Poems by the late John Bethune With a sketch of the author's life, by his brother |
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THE LAND OF BEAUTY. |
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| II. |
 | Poems by the late John Bethune |  |
THE LAND OF BEAUTY.
A lone and melancholy spirit,
To this melodious store
Of treasured memories, would add
One faint memorial more.
To this melodious store
Of treasured memories, would add
One faint memorial more.
'Midst offerings of the beautiful,
Where beauty's eyes may beam,
A stranger would insert his own,
Though that were but a dream.
Where beauty's eyes may beam,
A stranger would insert his own,
Though that were but a dream.
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Not his the moralizing strain,
Not his the serious lay
Which warns the young how soon the charms
Of youth must pass away.
Not his the serious lay
Which warns the young how soon the charms
Of youth must pass away.
He never saw a rose-bud die,
Nor heard a yellow leaf
Fall, rustling, from the autumn groves
Without a shade of grief;
Nor heard a yellow leaf
Fall, rustling, from the autumn groves
Without a shade of grief;
And ill, I ween, his heart could bear
T' anticipate the time
When youth and beauty, withering,
Must mourn their fleeting prime;
T' anticipate the time
When youth and beauty, withering,
Must mourn their fleeting prime;
And therefore doth his pensive soul
A joyful solace seek
In visions of that happy land
Where youth is on each cheek;
A joyful solace seek
In visions of that happy land
Where youth is on each cheek;
For there no flower is philomote,
And there no leaf is sere,
And there no autumns blight the bloom
Of an eternal year.
And there no leaf is sere,
And there no autumns blight the bloom
Of an eternal year.
He sees the smiles of spirits pure,
Like sunny waters, play
On faces whose transcendent charms
Can never know decay.
Like sunny waters, play
On faces whose transcendent charms
Can never know decay.
He sees, with joy, seraphic eyes
In liquid lustre shine,
And gladly knows no burning tear
Can dim their beam benign.
In liquid lustre shine,
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Can dim their beam benign.
He hears the hallow'd harmony
Of rapturous songs arise,
From lips whose every breath is tuned
To anthems of the skies.
Of rapturous songs arise,
From lips whose every breath is tuned
To anthems of the skies.
He longs to mingle with the blest—
In that celestial Land,
To hold communion chaste and high
With beauty's holiest band;
In that celestial Land,
To hold communion chaste and high
With beauty's holiest band;
And he would lure the lovely here,
The young—the good—the fair,
To veil their evancscent charms,
And seek for glory there;
The young—the good—the fair,
To veil their evancscent charms,
And seek for glory there;
For in that Land, where beauty blooms,
Alone may beauty be
From withering eares, and blighting time,
And sin and sorrow free.
Alone may beauty be
From withering eares, and blighting time,
And sin and sorrow free.
| Poems by the late John Bethune | |