 | The Vision of Prophecy and Other Poems |  |
133
THE PETREL.
“Are ye not much better than they?”—St. Matthew vi. 26.
Far out at sea, and slowly borne
To lands beneath a southern sky,
A vision came of years gone by,
And thoughts that haunt a heart forlorn.
To lands beneath a southern sky,
A vision came of years gone by,
And thoughts that haunt a heart forlorn.
As if my life had been a dream,
And I, with aimless course and blank,
A weak weed, loosened from the bank,
And idly drifting down the stream.
And I, with aimless course and blank,
A weak weed, loosened from the bank,
And idly drifting down the stream.
As if there were no loving eye
To guide my feet, and watch my ways,
And I, chance-wandering through a maze,
Might unregarded live and die.
To guide my feet, and watch my ways,
And I, chance-wandering through a maze,
Might unregarded live and die.
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Behind me, I could only mark
The hopes and pleasures I had lost;
Before me, like an unknown coast,
The Future loomed through vapours dark.
The hopes and pleasures I had lost;
Before me, like an unknown coast,
The Future loomed through vapours dark.
A troubled mood not free from sin,
A murmuring at the will of God,
A voice that cried against the rod
From an unhumbled heart within.
A murmuring at the will of God,
A voice that cried against the rod
From an unhumbled heart within.
But so I mused, when near the ship
It chanced a lonely sea-bird flew,—
Low-hovering o'er the waters blue
It curved with frequent downward dip.
It chanced a lonely sea-bird flew,—
Low-hovering o'er the waters blue
It curved with frequent downward dip.
Long time I watched its wavering flight,—
Hither and thither o'er the sea
It skimmed, as if each movement free
Followed an impulse of delight.
Hither and thither o'er the sea
It skimmed, as if each movement free
Followed an impulse of delight.
No other living thing did move
In that wide circle's desert bound,—
The bleak sea heaving all around,
The dim dome arching vague above.
In that wide circle's desert bound,—
The bleak sea heaving all around,
The dim dome arching vague above.
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And then I thought,—“That little bird
Hath its loved haunt at close of day,
In some green island far away,
Or rock or reef which breakers gird.
Hath its loved haunt at close of day,
In some green island far away,
Or rock or reef which breakers gird.
“And not unguided doth it roam,—
One eye its every wandering knows;
And in its heart an instinct glows
That guides it to its distant home.
One eye its every wandering knows;
And in its heart an instinct glows
That guides it to its distant home.
“It hath no skill to sow nor reap,
Yet for its daily want He cares,
And its convenient food prepares
In the salt furrows of the deep.
Yet for its daily want He cares,
And its convenient food prepares
In the salt furrows of the deep.
“And wherefore doubt, O fearful heart!
As if, through all thy wanderings wide,
He will not be thy faithful guide,
And act a loving Father's part?
As if, through all thy wanderings wide,
He will not be thy faithful guide,
And act a loving Father's part?
“Set not thy will with His at strife,—
The water of the bitterest cup
May be a fountain springing up
Hereafter to eternal life.”
The water of the bitterest cup
May be a fountain springing up
Hereafter to eternal life.”
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I heard the mild admonishment,
The echo of that voice of power
Which on the Mount made every flower
And bird a preacher of content.
The echo of that voice of power
Which on the Mount made every flower
And bird a preacher of content.
And straightway the remembrance bred
Within me hope and holy trust,—
My spirit rose out of the dust,
And worshipped, and was comforted.
Within me hope and holy trust,—
My spirit rose out of the dust,
And worshipped, and was comforted.
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