 | A New Year's Eve, and Other Poems |  |
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“IF A LIVELIER MEASURE.”
If a livelier measure may lighten
Thy thoughts of their wearisome load,
If the beauties of Nature may brighten
Thy life on its pilgrimage road;—
The harp that has hung on the willow,
The moonlight that sleeps on the tomb,
The foam-crest that whitens the billow,
Shall tell thee of glory in gloom.
Thy thoughts of their wearisome load,
If the beauties of Nature may brighten
Thy life on its pilgrimage road;—
The harp that has hung on the willow,
The moonlight that sleeps on the tomb,
The foam-crest that whitens the billow,
Shall tell thee of glory in gloom.
Sweet Philomel, tenderly pouring
Her strains on the silence of night
The skylark, to heaven's gate soaring
'Till lost in the blaze of its light;
The sun, which a tempest had shrouded,
When bursting again from the sky,
The stars, which night's dark vault had clouded,
When once more they come forth on high;—
Her strains on the silence of night
The skylark, to heaven's gate soaring
'Till lost in the blaze of its light;
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When bursting again from the sky,
The stars, which night's dark vault had clouded,
When once more they come forth on high;—
The ivy, a scathed oak entwining,
Which but for its greenness seems dead;
Spring flowerets, in young beauty shining,
With winter's sere leaves for their bed;
The butterfly, joyfully urging
Its flight from the chrysalis cell;
The bow from the storm-cloud emerging,
Of hope and of gladness shall tell.
Which but for its greenness seems dead;
Spring flowerets, in young beauty shining,
With winter's sere leaves for their bed;
The butterfly, joyfully urging
Its flight from the chrysalis cell;
The bow from the storm-cloud emerging,
Of hope and of gladness shall tell.
All these to thought's glance as it ranges
Bring tidings it gratefully reads;
They show in their beauty and changes
How joy unto sorrow succeeds;
They chide us for yielding to sadness,
While Hope yet remains within reach,
And Religion may listen with gladness
To lessons that Nature can teach.
Bring tidings it gratefully reads;
They show in their beauty and changes
How joy unto sorrow succeeds;
They chide us for yielding to sadness,
While Hope yet remains within reach,
And Religion may listen with gladness
To lessons that Nature can teach.
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Believe, then, when darkness appals thee,
To-morrow thy sky may be light;
Still hope, e'en while sorrow enthrals thee,
To-morrow joy's sun may be bright;
For He who to Nature's wild features
Gives beauty where all appeared dim,
Will never do less for his creatures
Who patiently look up to Him!
To-morrow thy sky may be light;
Still hope, e'en while sorrow enthrals thee,
To-morrow joy's sun may be bright;
For He who to Nature's wild features
Gives beauty where all appeared dim,
Will never do less for his creatures
Who patiently look up to Him!
| A New Year's Eve, and Other Poems | |