 | Specimens of American poetry |  |
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NATHANIEL H. WRIGHT
THE ISLE OF FLOWERS.
In Huron's wave a lovely isle
Gems the blue water's vast expanse.
There nature wears her sweetest smile,
And sunbeams o'er her beauties dance.
Gems the blue water's vast expanse.
There nature wears her sweetest smile,
And sunbeams o'er her beauties dance.
In vain the angry billows beat
Against its rock-encircled shore;
The spray but makes its blossoms sweet,
Expanding 'mid the tempest's roar.
Against its rock-encircled shore;
The spray but makes its blossoms sweet,
Expanding 'mid the tempest's roar.
But when the winds and waves are hush'd,
And evening's shade is stealing on,
When the last beams of day have blush'd,
And Hesper mounts his cloudless throne
And evening's shade is stealing on,
When the last beams of day have blush'd,
And Hesper mounts his cloudless throne
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How gently weep the dews of night,
Which bow the tender harebell's head
And, falling noiseless, sweetly light
Upon the spotless lily's bed.
Which bow the tender harebell's head
And, falling noiseless, sweetly light
Upon the spotless lily's bed.
Oh! were but man like that fair isle,
In vain should trouble's tempests gloom;
Hope's fairest flowers around should smile,
And faith and resignation bloom.
In vain should trouble's tempests gloom;
Hope's fairest flowers around should smile,
And faith and resignation bloom.
When life's last lingering beam should fade,
The radiant star of peace would rise,
And dews of grace, at evening's shade,
His spirit nurture for the skies.
The radiant star of peace would rise,
And dews of grace, at evening's shade,
His spirit nurture for the skies.
THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM.
When night her lonely shade has spread
Around the wayworn wanderer's head,
How welcome is the distant gleam
Of cottage taper's twinkling beam,
To guide and cheer his devious tread,
By marshy fen or mountain stream.
Thus in the wilderness of life,
When o'er us gloom the shades of strife,
When adverse fortune's tempests roll,
And beat upon the troubled soul,
There beams athwart affliction's night,
With rays of peace, a holy light:
Oh! 't is that bright and lovely star,
Which guides the wanderer from afar;
Which smiles upon the brow of even,
And holds its course in midway heaven.
Around the wayworn wanderer's head,
How welcome is the distant gleam
Of cottage taper's twinkling beam,
To guide and cheer his devious tread,
By marshy fen or mountain stream.
Thus in the wilderness of life,
When o'er us gloom the shades of strife,
When adverse fortune's tempests roll,
And beat upon the troubled soul,
There beams athwart affliction's night,
With rays of peace, a holy light:
Oh! 't is that bright and lovely star,
Which guides the wanderer from afar;
Which smiles upon the brow of even,
And holds its course in midway heaven.
Mark'st thou the rainbow's beauteous hue
In yonder eastern sky of blue?
A moment, and the tints shall fade,
And all its glories sink in shade.
Or dost thou mark yon opening flower?
'T is but the blossom of an hour;
Its leaves shall by the winds be strown,
And where it bloom'd no more be known.
The solid globe shall pass away,
The fleeting atom of a day.
The sun, and every lesser light,
Shall all be quenched in endless night.
Yet shall the Star of Bethlehem shine,
A light of origin divine:
And when the flood of ruin streams,
That star shall brighter shed its beams.
It shone upon a Saviour's birth,
And chased the gathering gloom of earth.
No cloud obscures its holy ray,
Its torch was lit in realms above,
And from the shrine of boundless love
It flames with heaven's own lucid day.
When is fulfilled Jehovah's grace,
When other orbs no more have place,
'T will light th' immensity of space.
In yonder eastern sky of blue?
A moment, and the tints shall fade,
And all its glories sink in shade.
Or dost thou mark yon opening flower?
'T is but the blossom of an hour;
Its leaves shall by the winds be strown,
And where it bloom'd no more be known.
The solid globe shall pass away,
The fleeting atom of a day.
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Shall all be quenched in endless night.
Yet shall the Star of Bethlehem shine,
A light of origin divine:
And when the flood of ruin streams,
That star shall brighter shed its beams.
It shone upon a Saviour's birth,
And chased the gathering gloom of earth.
No cloud obscures its holy ray,
Its torch was lit in realms above,
And from the shrine of boundless love
It flames with heaven's own lucid day.
When is fulfilled Jehovah's grace,
When other orbs no more have place,
'T will light th' immensity of space.
| Specimens of American poetry | |