Chips, fragments and vestiges by Gail Hamilton collected and arranged by H. Augusta Dodge |
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ON THE SIDEWALK |
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 | Chips, fragments and vestiges by Gail Hamilton |  |
133
ON THE SIDEWALK
On the sidewalk dim and dusty
Ceaseless tread of hurrying feet,
Pleasure, passion, pain, and madness
Stalking up and down the street.
How the golden stars were burning,
Throbbing, glowing in the sky—
How the earth lay calm and holy
In the glory from on high,
As we walked among the walkers,
Slowly walking—you and I.
Ceaseless tread of hurrying feet,
Pleasure, passion, pain, and madness
Stalking up and down the street.
How the golden stars were burning,
Throbbing, glowing in the sky—
How the earth lay calm and holy
In the glory from on high,
As we walked among the walkers,
Slowly walking—you and I.
But the stars serene and shining,
And the moonlight clear and cold,
And the throng forever pressing
After wisdom, wine, and gold,
Drew no meaning—read no token,
Could not know the secret power
Of the words we lightly uttered
In that unforgotten hour.
Lightly spoken, lightly spoken,
Oh! the heavy hearts they made,
O the spell yet, yet unbroken,
Which upon our souls they laid.
O the sudden silent anguish,
Cleaving heart and soul and life,
O the terrible concealing
Outward sign of inward strife.
Bootless, fruitless, vain concealing
That the light of life was gone.
Memories of the buried Past
Only, left to live upon.
Bootless, fruitless, vain concealing,
Aimless, hopeless, wild endeavor,
For a chord of life was smitten
That will tremble on forever.
And the moonlight clear and cold,
And the throng forever pressing
After wisdom, wine, and gold,
Drew no meaning—read no token,
Could not know the secret power
Of the words we lightly uttered
In that unforgotten hour.
Lightly spoken, lightly spoken,
Oh! the heavy hearts they made,
O the spell yet, yet unbroken,
Which upon our souls they laid.
134
Cleaving heart and soul and life,
O the terrible concealing
Outward sign of inward strife.
Bootless, fruitless, vain concealing
That the light of life was gone.
Memories of the buried Past
Only, left to live upon.
Bootless, fruitless, vain concealing,
Aimless, hopeless, wild endeavor,
For a chord of life was smitten
That will tremble on forever.
You will go your way in life—
I shall calmly walk in mine—
Of the blight upon my spirit
There shall be no trace nor sign.
While I tread this vale of shadows,
Be the way or short or long,
Smiles shall dwell upon my forehead,
Cheerful words upon my tongue,
And I have a cooling balsam,
For the burning in my brain,
We are bound now and forever
Each to each by common pain;
For you felt my heart was breaking,
For I read your voiceless woe,
Though we neither breathed a whisper
That could tell the other so.
Life is short and love eternal,
And we both shall stronger be—
For the bitter, bitter chalice
That is poured to you and me—
Gather now thy robes about thee,
Take thy pilgrim staff in hand,
Look not backward, travel onward
To the future better land;
Heave no sigh in vain regretting,
Thinking of what might have been,
It will be thy soul's ensnaring,
He must run who hopes to win.
In the day of life's declining,
When the lengthening shadows fall,
Looking back on all our pathway,
We will bless the Lord for all.
I shall calmly walk in mine—
Of the blight upon my spirit
There shall be no trace nor sign.
While I tread this vale of shadows,
Be the way or short or long,
Smiles shall dwell upon my forehead,
Cheerful words upon my tongue,
And I have a cooling balsam,
For the burning in my brain,
We are bound now and forever
Each to each by common pain;
For you felt my heart was breaking,
For I read your voiceless woe,
Though we neither breathed a whisper
That could tell the other so.
135
And we both shall stronger be—
For the bitter, bitter chalice
That is poured to you and me—
Gather now thy robes about thee,
Take thy pilgrim staff in hand,
Look not backward, travel onward
To the future better land;
Heave no sigh in vain regretting,
Thinking of what might have been,
It will be thy soul's ensnaring,
He must run who hopes to win.
In the day of life's declining,
When the lengthening shadows fall,
Looking back on all our pathway,
We will bless the Lord for all.
| Chips, fragments and vestiges by Gail Hamilton | |