 | Songs of the sea, with other poems |  |
93
THE DAYS THAT ARE PAST
We will not deplore them, the days that are past:
The gloom of misfortune is over them cast;
They were lengthened by sorrow and sullied by care,
Their griefs were too many, their joys were too rare;
Yet now that their shadows are on us no more,
Let us welcome the prospect that brightens before!
The gloom of misfortune is over them cast;
They were lengthened by sorrow and sullied by care,
Their griefs were too many, their joys were too rare;
Yet now that their shadows are on us no more,
Let us welcome the prospect that brightens before!
We've cherished fair hopes, we've plotted brave schemes,—
We've lived till we find them illusive as dreams;
Wealth has melted like snow that is grasped in the hand,
And the steps we have climbed sink beneath us like sand;
Yet shall we despond while of health unberest,
And honor, bright honor, and freedom are left?
We've lived till we find them illusive as dreams;
Wealth has melted like snow that is grasped in the hand,
And the steps we have climbed sink beneath us like sand;
Yet shall we despond while of health unberest,
And honor, bright honor, and freedom are left?
94
O, shall we despond, while the pages of time
Yet open before us their records sublime?
While, ennobled by treasures more precious than gold,
We can walk with the heroes and martyrs of old?
While humanity whispers such tales in the ear,
As it softens the heart, like sweet music, to hear?
Yet open before us their records sublime?
While, ennobled by treasures more precious than gold,
We can walk with the heroes and martyrs of old?
While humanity whispers such tales in the ear,
As it softens the heart, like sweet music, to hear?
O, shall we despond, while, with vision still free,
We can gaze on the sky, and the earth, and the sea?
While the sunshine can waken a burst of delight,
And the stars are a joy and a glory by night?
While each harmony running through nature can raise,
In our spirits, the impulse of gladness and praise?
We can gaze on the sky, and the earth, and the sea?
While the sunshine can waken a burst of delight,
And the stars are a joy and a glory by night?
While each harmony running through nature can raise,
In our spirits, the impulse of gladness and praise?
O, let us no longer than vainly lament
Over scenes that are faded, and days that are spent!
But, by faith unforsaken, unawed by mischance,
On Hope's waving banner still fixed be our glance;
And should Fortune prove cruel and false to the last,
Let us look to the future, and not to the past!
Over scenes that are faded, and days that are spent!
But, by faith unforsaken, unawed by mischance,
On Hope's waving banner still fixed be our glance;
And should Fortune prove cruel and false to the last,
Let us look to the future, and not to the past!
| Songs of the sea, with other poems | |