 | Poems (1895) |  |
74
IV. A WARNING.
In the great work of Human Good, sweet Child!Be thou a new Messiah to the earth!
Much thought and love made prelude to thy birth,
And passion by no violence defiled;
Kindness and care upon thy coming smiled,
And brooded o'er thy helplessness and pain:
And, if intent by fate be made not vain,
Thou shalt be rear'd within all influence mild.
Ye who have children, hear!—The mind of ages
Is in your hands, to fashion as ye will—
Ancillary to Nature and to God:
The distant future, waiting on your nod
For good perpetual or continuous ill,
Will stamp your praise or shame on its eternal page.
15th December 1838.
| Poems (1895) | |