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 | [Poems by Larcom in] Beckonings For Every Day |  |
THE NEW YEAR.
Behold, the New Year beckons, like a flower
Hid in its roots among the untrodden hills:
God show thee how its sweetness every hour
Grows only as His breath thy spirit fills!
Hid in its roots among the untrodden hills:
God show thee how its sweetness every hour
Grows only as His breath thy spirit fills!
Behold, the New Year beckons, like a star,
A splendid mystery of the unfathomed skies:
God guide thee through His mystic spaces far,
Till all His stars as suns within thee rise!
A splendid mystery of the unfathomed skies:
God guide thee through His mystic spaces far,
Till all His stars as suns within thee rise!
The New Year beckons. He too, beckoning, nears;
Forget not thou that all its gifts are His!
Take from His hand all blessings of the years,
And of the blossoming, starred eternities!
Forget not thou that all its gifts are His!
Take from His hand all blessings of the years,
And of the blossoming, starred eternities!
SPRING.
No matter what the almanac may say,
The year begins with the first month of spring,
When snowdrifts into rivulets slip away,
And bluebirds of the coming violet sing;
The year begins with the first month of spring,
When snowdrifts into rivulets slip away,
And bluebirds of the coming violet sing;
When March winds sweep the stairway of the rocks
From rubbish-heaps of autumn leafage clear,
And the sun turns back from the equinox
To welcome and lead home the baby year.
From rubbish-heaps of autumn leafage clear,
And the sun turns back from the equinox
To welcome and lead home the baby year.
The baby's name is Spring. Around her feet
Quaint ferns their scrolls unroll, and mosses rare
With coral fairy-cups steal down to meet
Her winsome footsteps on the woodland stair.
Quaint ferns their scrolls unroll, and mosses rare
With coral fairy-cups steal down to meet
Her winsome footsteps on the woodland stair.
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O great, befriending natures,
O great, befriending natures,Whom God hath set about
Our human habitations,—
How blank were life, without
Your presences inspiring,
Your silent, upward call!
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One heaven enfolds us all!
AUTUMN.
A woman, moving up the orchard-slope
With even gait, and steady, seeking eyes.
Autumn, that ripens all things, ripens hope;
Trees bear fruit every month, in Paradise.
With even gait, and steady, seeking eyes.
Autumn, that ripens all things, ripens hope;
Trees bear fruit every month, in Paradise.
September, standing on her golden round
Of the year's ladder, mid her vintage-leaves,
Hears through her harvest-fields a wail resound;—
Her starving sisters begging for her sheaves.
Of the year's ladder, mid her vintage-leaves,
Hears through her harvest-fields a wail resound;—
Her starving sisters begging for her sheaves.
Autumn did but enrich herself to give;
And, scattering blessings, see her now depart,
Whispering that on life's hills 't was sweet to live,
While Indian Summer sunshine warmed her heart!
And, scattering blessings, see her now depart,
Whispering that on life's hills 't was sweet to live,
While Indian Summer sunshine warmed her heart!
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[Three humble friends of His, in lofty light]
Three humble friends of His, in lofty lightSaw Him with heaven's men talking, face to face:
Still, where He meets His friends is Tabor's height,
Above the obscuring mists of time and space.
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[If I truly love The One]
If I truly love The One,All He loves are mine;
Alien to my heart is none,
And life grows divine.
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[They are alive, who seemed to die]
They are alive, who seemed to die;
In every breeze a soul goes by,
And whispers, “There is nothing dead;
Life stirs the very dust you tread.”
In every breeze a soul goes by,
And whispers, “There is nothing dead;
Life stirs the very dust you tread.”
Haunted is every spot below;
Spirits around us come and go,
Opening earth's doors to heavenly air;
With us forever, everywhere!
Spirits around us come and go,
Opening earth's doors to heavenly air;
With us forever, everywhere!
WINTER.
December's sun is low; the Year is old:
Through fallen leaves and flying flakes of snow,
The aged pilgrim climbs the mountain cold:—
But look! the summits in the afterglow!
Through fallen leaves and flying flakes of snow,
The aged pilgrim climbs the mountain cold:—
But look! the summits in the afterglow!
The fierce winds hold their breath: the rocks give way;
The stars look down to guide her up the height:
And all around her lonely footsteps play
Auroral waves of spiritual light.
The stars look down to guide her up the height:
And all around her lonely footsteps play
Auroral waves of spiritual light.
Nothing before her but the peak, the sky!
Nothing? Ah, look! beyond is everything!
Over these mountains greener valleys lie;
A happier New Year, an eternal Spring!
Nothing? Ah, look! beyond is everything!
Over these mountains greener valleys lie;
A happier New Year, an eternal Spring!
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[When Christmas comes, we hear again the word]
When Christmas comes, we hear again the wordOur Lord spake, listening back to His own birth,
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His advent hymned by all the years of earth,—
“Except as little children ye become,
Ye cannot in God's kingdom be at home.”
When Christmas comes, set in the midst is He,
The Eternal Child, to show men they must be
As children still, would they His kingdom see.
| [Poems by Larcom in] Beckonings For Every Day | |