[Poems by Wilde in] Richard Henry Wilde His Life and Selected Poems |
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LINES WRITTEN IN MARY[']S ‘RELIQUIARIUM’ |
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 | [Poems by Wilde in] Richard Henry Wilde |  |
LINES WRITTEN IN MARY[']S ‘RELIQUIARIUM’
Hail to these venerable wrecks of Time!
Precious and rare memorials of the brave,
The wise—the good—the great of every clime
Where Man is not—or should not be—a slave!
Precious and rare memorials of the brave,
The wise—the good—the great of every clime
Where Man is not—or should not be—a slave!
To these most sacred treasures of the heart
In deep, devout humility I bow,
Linger before the shrine, and loath to part
Repeat my ‘ave’ and renew my vow.
In deep, devout humility I bow,
Linger before the shrine, and loath to part
Repeat my ‘ave’ and renew my vow.
An unknown lonely Pilgrim from afar,
By shipwreck on the World's wide desert cast,
My only guide a solitary star,
I reached this Temple's vestibule at last;
By shipwreck on the World's wide desert cast,
My only guide a solitary star,
I reached this Temple's vestibule at last;
And bending thus, as at Loretto's fane,
I pour most fervently my secret prayer,
That after years like centuries of pain,
I too, the Virgin-Mother's Peace share.
I pour most fervently my secret prayer,
That after years like centuries of pain,
I too, the Virgin-Mother's Peace share.
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Offering alas! it is not mine to make—
I have none worthy of Madonna's name,
To meditate and worship, for her sake—
Not to record my piety, I came.
I have none worthy of Madonna's name,
To meditate and worship, for her sake—
Not to record my piety, I came.
But yet if more than silver, gems, or gold,
Avail the widow's mite, and sinner's tear,
A tribute never to be bought or sold,
The honest tribute of the heart, is here!
Avail the widow's mite, and sinner's tear,
A tribute never to be bought or sold,
The honest tribute of the heart, is here!
| [Poems by Wilde in] Richard Henry Wilde | |