Poems | ||
XXXIV. MY GODSON'S BAPTISM.
I
Dear Christian child! was it the powerThat in those gifted waters came,
Which stirred thee at that solemn hour,
And thrilled through all thy trembling frame?
II
Oh! was it keen and fierce the smartWhen the old root within thee died,
And the new nature in thy heart
Rose like the swell of Ocean's tide?
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III
Yes—in the dawn of thy new birthThere came some spiritual fears,
Faint gleams of after-things,—that earth
Might pay the first-fruits of her tears.
IV
Sweet penitent! all lovely thingsAre for their brightness full of fear;
And strange would seem those angel-wings
That came and made soft motions near.
V
And yet the Cross did hush thy cries,When thou within mine arms didst lie,
Quiet and sealed for sacrifice
Unto the Holy Trinity.
VI
And such a smile sat on thy mouth,While from that Token's fourfold might,
From East and West, from North and South,
Great visions broke upon thy sight.
VII
And such a look came from thine eyesThrough lashes fringed with Christian dew—
Wonder and hope and mirth did rise
Up from those wells of heavenly blue.
VIII
Now thou art consecrate, fair thing!A Church where sinners have not prayed,
A shrine where only Angels sing,
Another stone in Sion laid!
Poems | ||