 | [Poems by Stoddard in] Hymns for mothers and children |  |
iii
THE LAW OF LOVE.
Oh! if there is one law, above the rest,Written in wisdom; if there is a word
That I would trace, as with a pen of fire,
Upon the unsullied temper of a child;
If there is any thing that keeps the mind
Open to angel visits, and repels
The ministry of ill,—'tis human love;
And, in the yearning tenderness of a child
For every bird that sings above its head,
And every creature feeding on the hills,
And every tree and flower and running brook,
We see how every thing was made to love;
And how they err, who, in a world like this,
Find any thing to hate but human pride.
277
MY BOY.
I see a cottage leagues from here;
A garden near; some orchard trees;
A leafy glimpse of creeping seas;
And in the cottage something dear,—
A garden near; some orchard trees;
A leafy glimpse of creeping seas;
And in the cottage something dear,—
A square of sunlight on the floor,
Blocked from the window; in the square
A happy child with heavenly hair,
To whom the world is more and more.
Blocked from the window; in the square
A happy child with heavenly hair,
To whom the world is more and more.
278
They bear him to an upper room,
When comes the eve: he hums for me,
Like some voluptuous drowsy bee,
That shuts his wings in honied gloom.
When comes the eve: he hums for me,
Like some voluptuous drowsy bee,
That shuts his wings in honied gloom.
I see a shadow in a chair;
I see a shadowy cradle go;
I hear a ditty, soft and low:
The mother and the child are there!
I see a shadowy cradle go;
I hear a ditty, soft and low:
The mother and the child are there!
At length the balm of sleep is shed;
One bed contains my bud and flower:
They sleep and dream, and hour by hour
Goes by, while angels watch the bed.
One bed contains my bud and flower:
They sleep and dream, and hour by hour
Goes by, while angels watch the bed.
Sleep on, and dream, ye blessed pair!
My prayer shall guard ye night and day;
Ye guard me so, ye make me pray:
Ye make my happy life a prayer!
My prayer shall guard ye night and day;
Ye guard me so, ye make me pray:
Ye make my happy life a prayer!
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