 | The Poetical Works of Oliver Wendell Holmes |  |
AN OLD GRADUATE'S VERSES
PHI BETA KAPPA DINNER, HARVARD JULY 21, 1864
A peaceful haven while the deep is seething,
An alcove's cobwebs while the flags are flaunting,
A spot of tranquil shade for quiet breathing
While all the haggard, hurried world is panting;
An alcove's cobwebs while the flags are flaunting,
A spot of tranquil shade for quiet breathing
While all the haggard, hurried world is panting;
Hard by, a church-yard full of soundest sleepers,
Old square-browed Presidents with wisdom brimming,
Long “deaded” tutors and clean swept up sweepers,
And the slim youths of promise, drowned in swimming;
Old square-browed Presidents with wisdom brimming,
Long “deaded” tutors and clean swept up sweepers,
And the slim youths of promise, drowned in swimming;
Old trees, the saplings of the Revolution,
That heard the banging of the “Lively's” cannon,—
The first salute that hailed the “Constitution,”—
The broadsides of the “Chesapeake” and “Shannon”;
That heard the banging of the “Lively's” cannon,—
The first salute that hailed the “Constitution,”—
The broadsides of the “Chesapeake” and “Shannon”;
Old halls, each building youth's eternal palace,
Stirring and sparkling still with fresh newcomers,
As the last vintage fills the same old chalice
That held the life-blood of a hundred summers;
Stirring and sparkling still with fresh newcomers,
As the last vintage fills the same old chalice
That held the life-blood of a hundred summers;
Old teachers, abstracts of the mouldy centuries,
Sines, xs, accents, etched on all their features,
Old beldames slopping through the windy entries
With pail and besom,—obsoletest creatures!
Sines, xs, accents, etched on all their features,
Old beldames slopping through the windy entries
With pail and besom,—obsoletest creatures!
Old legends of our fathers' fathers' follies,
Born of hot youth and blood-inflaming revel,—
The midnight leap from Harvard's roof to Hollis,—
The sinful words that summoned up the Devil;
Born of hot youth and blood-inflaming revel,—
The midnight leap from Harvard's roof to Hollis,—
The sinful words that summoned up the Devil;
Prayer bells—brief toilets—limited lavation—
Sharp run of tardy saints to Pater noster,
Where worship mingles with the contemplation
Of doubtful record on the morning's roster;
Sharp run of tardy saints to Pater noster,
Where worship mingles with the contemplation
Of doubtful record on the morning's roster;
The long, long grind of daily recitation
Chalk, blackboard, “pony,” prompter, all in action
The prisoned hour of stifling condensation,
The final gush, rush, flush of rarefaction.
Chalk, blackboard, “pony,” prompter, all in action
The prisoned hour of stifling condensation,
The final gush, rush, flush of rarefaction.
These are the old, old tangled recollections
That Time in strange confusion blends and mingles
Till with the wakened thrill of young affections
The marrow in the bones of Memory tingles!
That Time in strange confusion blends and mingles
Till with the wakened thrill of young affections
The marrow in the bones of Memory tingles!
These weave the dream, the beatific vision
That haunts our busy day, our toil-bought slumbers,
Here are the blissful shades, the bowers Elysian,
And these the brightest hours our evening numbers!
That haunts our busy day, our toil-bought slumbers,
Here are the blissful shades, the bowers Elysian,
And these the brightest hours our evening numbers!
| The Poetical Works of Oliver Wendell Holmes | |