 | A book of Bristol sonnets |  |
66
THE CHURCHYARD GATE,
AT ABBOT'S LEIGH.
Shredding his rose upon the wedding-day,The fluttering bridegroom paused, and communed here,
And took fresh heart to see the gay ships steer
On bold adventure forth into the bay!
And they, who bore the last old friend this way
Would gaze down dock-wards, out across the bier,
Then lay their burden down without a tear,
So well the vessels rested by the quay!
And old and young beside that churchyard gate
Could gain some lesson from the changing tide;
And how God gave or took, they would relate;
Would bear their joy with calm, their want with pride.
There is no spot in all the country round
Where Nature's hands so strong to help are found!
| A book of Bristol sonnets | |