 | Jones Very : The Complete Poems |  |
268
Hymn
As by the quickening breath of Spring,
The flowers and buds unfold,
And on the air their perfume fling,
And deck the fields with gold;
The flowers and buds unfold,
And on the air their perfume fling,
And deck the fields with gold;
So, by the life Instruction gives
Do minds their powers expand;
And man a nobler being lives,
Nobler in heart and hand.
Do minds their powers expand;
And man a nobler being lives,
Nobler in heart and hand.
No more with dull and grovelling thought,
He idle roves the earth;
With busy hands the works are wrought
To which his mind gives birth.
He idle roves the earth;
With busy hands the works are wrought
To which his mind gives birth.
He builds the city's dwellings fair,
He sails across the sea;
And doth in nature's secrets share,
Her might and mystery.
He sails across the sea;
And doth in nature's secrets share,
Her might and mystery.
The factory huge, the tapering spire,
Alike proclaim his skill;
The steam-drawn car, the electric fire,
Are subject to his will.
Alike proclaim his skill;
The steam-drawn car, the electric fire,
Are subject to his will.
He bows not now in mental night
To idols like the clod;
But in his soul receives the Light,
And worships only God.
To idols like the clod;
But in his soul receives the Light,
And worships only God.
Poem No. 52; c. 15 May 1851
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