The Poetry of Real Life | ||
40
ON A CHURCH, COVERED WITH IVY AND VIRGINIA CLIMBERS, AND OTHER PLANTS.
Oh blessed union of holiest things,The innocence of Nature hand in hand
With all that is in Man most pure and grand!
Oh marriage beyond all imaginings,
Whence offspring, and most lawful issue, springs,
Beauty and Holiness, as from the wand
Of magic: yet by no such vain command,
But by His power who, only, such spells flings!
Oh outward emblem of an inward bond
And union between things close-allied,
Whose form should with their spirit correspond—
So in our inward worship, side by side
With all its awfulness, a grace, beyond
E'en that, should be, through love, not fear, to guide!
The Poetry of Real Life | ||