 | [Poems by Whittier in] A Study of Whittier's Apprenticeship as a Poet |  |
BEAUTY
Oh, turn thee from thy gladsome hours,
And from the smiles that light thy way;—
The garner of life's fading flowers,
The funeral torches of Decay!
Oh, turn from these, for they will pass
Like dew from off the shaken grass,
Or like the dream that glideth by
The vision of the sleep-sealed eye;
Ay, Hope and Love may pass away,
Before one raven tress be grey!
And from the smiles that light thy way;—
The garner of life's fading flowers,
The funeral torches of Decay!
Oh, turn from these, for they will pass
Like dew from off the shaken grass,
Or like the dream that glideth by
The vision of the sleep-sealed eye;
Ay, Hope and Love may pass away,
Before one raven tress be grey!
But there is Hope—and when the heart
By wrong, and guilt and shame is riven,
It points us to the “better part,”
The pure and blessed light of Heaven!
What though the way of life become
A desert of unbroken gloom,
Still to Contrition's eye of tears,
A ray of promised bliss appears,—
A guiding radiance sent abroad,
To call the pilgrim home to God!
By wrong, and guilt and shame is riven,
It points us to the “better part,”
The pure and blessed light of Heaven!
What though the way of life become
A desert of unbroken gloom,
Still to Contrition's eye of tears,
A ray of promised bliss appears,—
A guiding radiance sent abroad,
To call the pilgrim home to God!
Haverhill Gazette, March 27, 1830
| [Poems by Whittier in] A Study of Whittier's Apprenticeship as a Poet | |