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 | The Poetical Works of Aubrey De Vere |  |
XI. SPIRITUAL RETREATS.
(PENITENTIAL 1.)
Baths of the Church! seclusions sad, yet dear!Amid your cloistral caves, and shadowy cells,
That dark-stoled hermitress, Repentance, dwells,
Haunting your loneliest shades with patient cheer;
And agitating oft with hallowing tear
The streams Bethesdal of your healing wells;
Or murmuring low her grief-taught oracles
For souls too weak to feel, too proud to hear.
‘Alas! world-wearied Spirits, fly no more!
These springs make strong the feeble knees: these dews
Efface the lines of lingering care; infuse
Immortal youth through bosoms of threescore:—
Draw near. The Angels shall your introit sing,
Fanning your weary foreheads with assuasive wing.
| The Poetical Works of Aubrey De Vere | |