The Poetical Works of Robert Montgomery Collected and Revised by the Author |
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INFANCY. |
 | The Poetical Works of Robert Montgomery |  |
INFANCY.
“The smile of childhood on the cheek of age.”
A child beside a mother kneels
With lips of holy love;
And fain would lisp the vow it feels,
To Him enthroned above.
With lips of holy love;
And fain would lisp the vow it feels,
To Him enthroned above.
That cherub gaze, that stainless brow
So exquisitely fair!
Who would not be an infant now,
To breathe an infant-prayer?
So exquisitely fair!
Who would not be an infant now,
To breathe an infant-prayer?
No crime hath shaded its young heart,
The eye scarce knows a tear;
'Tis bright enough from earth to part
And grace another sphere!
The eye scarce knows a tear;
'Tis bright enough from earth to part
And grace another sphere!
And I was once a happy Thing
Like that which now I see;
No May-bird on ecstatic wing
More beautifully-free:
Like that which now I see;
No May-bird on ecstatic wing
More beautifully-free:
The cloud which bask'd in noontide-glow,
The flower that danced and shone,
All hues and sounds, above, below
Were joys to feast upon!
The flower that danced and shone,
All hues and sounds, above, below
Were joys to feast upon!
Let Wisdom smile, I oft forget
The colder haunts of men,
To hie where infant hearts are met,
And be a child again:
The colder haunts of men,
To hie where infant hearts are met,
And be a child again:
To look into their laughing eyes
And see the wild thoughts play,
While o'er each cheek a thousand dyes
Of mirth and meaning stray:
And see the wild thoughts play,
While o'er each cheek a thousand dyes
Of mirth and meaning stray:
618
O Manhood! could thy spirit kneel
Beside that sunny child,
As fondly pray, and purely feel
With soul as undefiled,
Beside that sunny child,
As fondly pray, and purely feel
With soul as undefiled,
That moment would encircle thee
With light and love divine;
Thy gaze might dwell on Deity
And heaven itself be thine!
With light and love divine;
Thy gaze might dwell on Deity
And heaven itself be thine!
| The Poetical Works of Robert Montgomery | |