 | Poems, original and translated |  |
173
THE HOUSE OF MERCY.
High up it stands, as well beseems its use.
Neighbor to Heaven that house may fitly be
Where sisters of mankind do works of Heaven.
Are they not angels, who with gentle feet
On mercy's errands tread these corridors,
And carry pleasant food and pleasant words
Of comfort, kindliness, and gentleness,
And carry twofold light to darkened rooms,
To darkened eyes and many a lowly heart?
Felicia, Benigna, Benedicta:
Happy, benign, most blessed is their work;
Happy, benign, and blessed be their names!
Neighbor to Heaven that house may fitly be
Where sisters of mankind do works of Heaven.
Are they not angels, who with gentle feet
On mercy's errands tread these corridors,
And carry pleasant food and pleasant words
Of comfort, kindliness, and gentleness,
And carry twofold light to darkened rooms,
To darkened eyes and many a lowly heart?
Felicia, Benigna, Benedicta:
Happy, benign, most blessed is their work;
Happy, benign, and blessed be their names!
“Set on a hill, a city is not hid,”
Said the world's Teacher,—yet from me was hid,
While yet my eyes were strong, this gracious house;
Nor did I find it till my sight was dim,
When in that watch-tower chamber, a lone guest,
I watched and waited through the lonely night
For morn to come and bring the skilful hand
That said to the blind eye: “Let there be light.”
High stands the house of mercy, as the works
Of mercy stand recorded high in Heaven.
“Whoso shall be the greatest of you all,
The same shall be your servant,” saith the Lord;
And so this mansion towers above the world,
High o'er the jar and jangle of the town,—
O'er all its wranglings and its rivalries,
Lofty in place, lowly in purposes;
Glory to God and good to man its aim.
Above the world, yet in and for the world;
It seems to say, in words the heart can hear:
“They best do honor God, who most serve man.”
Said the world's Teacher,—yet from me was hid,
While yet my eyes were strong, this gracious house;
Nor did I find it till my sight was dim,
When in that watch-tower chamber, a lone guest,
I watched and waited through the lonely night
For morn to come and bring the skilful hand
That said to the blind eye: “Let there be light.”
High stands the house of mercy, as the works
Of mercy stand recorded high in Heaven.
“Whoso shall be the greatest of you all,
The same shall be your servant,” saith the Lord;
And so this mansion towers above the world,
High o'er the jar and jangle of the town,—
174
Lofty in place, lowly in purposes;
Glory to God and good to man its aim.
Above the world, yet in and for the world;
It seems to say, in words the heart can hear:
“They best do honor God, who most serve man.”
Carney Hospital, South Boston,
Nov. 24, 1871.
| Poems, original and translated | |