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One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever. Ecclesiastes 1:4.
As is the sand upon the ocean's shore,
So without number seems the human race;
And to that number still are added more,
As wave on wave each other onward chase.
So without number seems the human race;
And to that number still are added more,
As wave on wave each other onward chase.
As are the drops of rain, that countless fall
Upon the earth, or on the briny sea;
So seem man's generations great and small,
Those that have been, and those who yet shall be.
Upon the earth, or on the briny sea;
So seem man's generations great and small,
Those that have been, and those who yet shall be.
As are the snow flakes fluttering on the air,
Succeeded still by others thick and fast;
So many souls the mortal image bear,
That stand within the present, or the past.
Succeeded still by others thick and fast;
So many souls the mortal image bear,
That stand within the present, or the past.
More than the ancient Preacher now we know,
Though wiser he than all the sons of men;
God, through his Son, the promise doth bestow,
That all the sons of earth shall live again.
Though wiser he than all the sons of men;
God, through his Son, the promise doth bestow,
That all the sons of earth shall live again.
Nor countless forms alone the earth doth hold,
Which on it move, or in its bosom lie;
As numberless the stars, which we behold,
Which fill the spaces of the azure sky,
Which on it move, or in its bosom lie;
As numberless the stars, which we behold,
Which fill the spaces of the azure sky,
So, we believe, unnumbered still in heaven
Will be the forms, that meet our new-born sight;
When to each soul a spotless robe is given
To dwell forever in its cloudless light.
Will be the forms, that meet our new-born sight;
When to each soul a spotless robe is given
To dwell forever in its cloudless light.
Poem No. 54; c. 26 January 1861
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