 | Poems of home and country |  |
99
'MID THE TEMPEST AND THE STRIFE.
HARVARD CLASS OF '29.
'Mid the tempest and the strife,
With stern heart and ready hand,
As when amid the conflict dire
Embattled legions stand,
In a world where bounding joy
Comes alternately with tears,
As night dews follow noontide heat,—
We have finished fifty years.
With stern heart and ready hand,
As when amid the conflict dire
Embattled legions stand,
In a world where bounding joy
Comes alternately with tears,
As night dews follow noontide heat,—
We have finished fifty years.
Oh, blissful were the hours
When, with brilliant hopes and young,
We launched our bark on life's bright sea,
And wooed the siren's tongue,
And the future, calm and fair,
Stood undimmed by rising fears;
Alas, our hearts had yet to learn
The scenes of fifty years!
When, with brilliant hopes and young,
We launched our bark on life's bright sea,
And wooed the siren's tongue,
And the future, calm and fair,
Stood undimmed by rising fears;
Alas, our hearts had yet to learn
The scenes of fifty years!
But with steadfast eye and heart,
Ever up and onward led,
The joy of freedom round us cast,
Its light above our head,
As shouts the pilgrim from the height
The towering mountain rears,—
So on the summit gained, we stand;
We have finished fifty years.
Ever up and onward led,
The joy of freedom round us cast,
Its light above our head,
As shouts the pilgrim from the height
The towering mountain rears,—
So on the summit gained, we stand;
We have finished fifty years.
100
Now back we turn to view
The path our steps have trod,
And, yearning, seek to press again
With loving feet the sod,
And busy memory to our souls
The fragrant past endears;
Yet comes that benison no more,—
We have finished fifty years.
The path our steps have trod,
And, yearning, seek to press again
With loving feet the sod,
And busy memory to our souls
The fragrant past endears;
Yet comes that benison no more,—
We have finished fifty years.
As the gray old ruin stands,
And verdure o'er it creeps,
And clings in every nook and seam,
And in silent beauty sleeps,—
So round our manhood's heart
The bloom of youth appears;
Age nurtures these sweet-trailing flowers,—
We have finished fifty years.
And verdure o'er it creeps,
And clings in every nook and seam,
And in silent beauty sleeps,—
So round our manhood's heart
The bloom of youth appears;
Age nurtures these sweet-trailing flowers,—
We have finished fifty years.
We have finished fifty years;
But our friendship, warm and true,
Unchanging, mocks the lapse of time,
Like heaven's immortal blue.
The radiant arch still smiles;
And while faith the portal nears,
Our love outrides the storms of life,—
The gales of fifty years.
But our friendship, warm and true,
Unchanging, mocks the lapse of time,
Like heaven's immortal blue.
The radiant arch still smiles;
And while faith the portal nears,
Our love outrides the storms of life,—
The gales of fifty years.
So clasp each brother's hand,
With a firm heart and a brave,
Strong to endure each adverse shock,
To breast each beating wave,
And light the crested foam with joy,
Howe'er the tempest veers,
Till storm and conflict, lulled, repose
Beyond these mortal years.
With a firm heart and a brave,
Strong to endure each adverse shock,
To breast each beating wave,
And light the crested foam with joy,
Howe'er the tempest veers,
Till storm and conflict, lulled, repose
Beyond these mortal years.
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