QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.
Flowers, wherefore do ye bloom?
—We strew thy pathway to the tomb.
Stars, wherefore do ye rise?
—To light thy spirit to the skies.
Fair Moon, why dost thou wane?
—That I may wax again.
O Sun, what makes thy beams so bright?
—The Word that said, “Let there be light.”
Planets, what guides you in your course?
—Unseen, unfelt, unfailing force.
Nature, whence sprang thy glorious frame?
—My Maker call'd me, and I came.
O Light, thy subtle essence who may know?
—Ask not; for all things but myself I show.
What is yon arch which everywhere I see?
—The sign of omnipresent Deity.
Where rests the horizon's all-embracing zone?
—Where earth, God's footstool, touches heaven, his throne.
Ye Clouds, what bring ye in your train?
—God's embassies,—storm, lightning, hail, or rain.
Winds, whence and whither do ye blow?
—Thou must be born again to know.
Bow in the cloud, what token dost thou bear?
—That Justice still cries “strike,” and Mercy “spare.”
Dews of the morning, wherefore were ye given?
—To shine on earth, then rise to heaven.
Rise, glitter, break; yet, Bubble, tell me why?
—To show the course of all beneath the sky.
Stay, Meteor, stay thy falling fire!
—No, thus shall all the host of heaven expire.
Ocean, what law thy chainless waves confined?
—That which in Reason's limits holds thy mind.
Time, whither dost thou flee?
—I travel to Eternity.
Eternity, what art thou,—say?
—Time past, time present, time to come,—to-day.
Ye Dead, where can your dwelling be?
—The house for all the living:—come and see.
O Life, what is thy breath?
—A vapour lost in death.
O Death, how ends thy strife?
—In everlasting life.
O Grave, where is thy victory?
—Ask Him who rose again for me.
