University of Virginia Library

DAWN.

Creat Morning in our sky once more,
Enkindling land and wave,—
To bring a day like all before,
And find me still a slave?
No! let me date my years anew;
This day is virgin white;
By Heaven, I will not re-indue
The rags of overnight!
I was a king by birth, and who
Is rebel to my right?
None but myself, myself alone:
Conquer myself, I take my throne.

[To plan a wise life, little pains doth ask]

To plan a wise life, little pains doth ask;
To live one wise day, troublesome the task.
And why so hard? what is it thwarts me still?
A morbid memory; a divided will;
A weak and wavering faith, which for mere shows
And shams of things forsakes the truth it knows.

[Suppose we tried the simple plan, to say]

Suppose we tried the simple plan, to say
No lies at all, for just one single day.
Would houses crumble into heaps of sand,
Fields wither, sky fall, ocean whelm the land?

[O life, made up of hints and moods and fine transitions]

O life, made up of hints and moods and fine transitions,
Great secrets murmur'd low, pure joy in fleeting visions!

[To fight the World's a weary strife]

To fight the World's a weary strife;
Shun it, who lov'st a quiet life.
To fight thy own true self is worse,
And victory the consummate curse.

[Thou Great One! help a poor weak man]

Thou Great One! help a poor weak man
To do and live the best he can.

[Lord, make me fit for heav'n!—but nay]

Lord, make me fit for heav'n!—but nay,
That is too bold a prayer to pray:
Fit for this common world, I'll say,
This wondrous world of night and day.

[Speak but one word beyond cavil or doubt!]

Speak but one word beyond cavil or doubt!
But once from the Infinite Deep look out!
On rock, on mire, my footstep slips;
And even the prayer dies on my lips.
—Nay, as it is, so must it be:
Shall the Plan of the Worlds be changed for thee?

[Tease not conscience, rack not wit]

Tease not conscience, rack not wit;
Take a quiet look at it,
This great world, strange and fair,
In which you also have your share.

[Take heed, take heed! the petty seed]

Take heed, take heed! the petty seed
Sown in a careless hour,
May run around your garden ground
And smother every flow'r.

[Bad thoughts come and bad thoughts go]

Bad thoughts come and bad thoughts go;
Are you safe as ever? No.
Ware, lest they have set a mark
For returning in the dark
(Dangerous hour of clouded will)
To rob, to kidnap, or to kill.

[Heaven's space from Hell doth good from ill divide]

Heaven's space from Hell doth good from ill divide;
Yet in man's heart they nestle side by side.

[Foul blotch of sin—disease—disgrace—]

Foul blotch of sin—disease—disgrace—
How ugly in another's face!
In ours not seen, till conscience met
Full-front, a mirror darkly clear,
Shock with ourselves ourselves. Appear,
O sudden truth, and sting us yet
From comfort hazardous and base!

[“Right and Wrong,” “Heaven and Hell,”]

“Right and Wrong,” “Heaven and Hell,”
These from the human spirit well;
The universe doth these divide;
They rest in one heart side by side,
And soak all nature through and through;
Each man doth his own world imbue.

[The pure bright world of childhood round us lies]

The pure bright world of childhood round us lies;
We look thereon with weary clouded eyes.

[Grieve for thy sin, grieve on; yet bless]

Grieve for thy sin, grieve on; yet bless
The Lord for thy unhappiness.
What! would'st thou change thy nature so
That sin should yield thee joy, not woe?

[Sin we have explain'd away]

Sin we have explain'd away;
Unluckily, the sinners stay.

The Game of Definitions.

“Sin's but the privative of good.”
Well, and hereby what's understood?
Cold's but the privative of heat,
Darkness the privative of light;
But frost will cut away your feet,
And ships and men are lost at night.
Alphabetic symbols use,
Or algebraic if you choose,
Plus, minus; this concerns not me;
Whatsoever “Sin” may be,
The fierce effects we feel and see.

[With this I end the day, with this begin]

With this I end the day, with this begin,
“O Lord Almighty, keep my soul from sin!”

To M. or N.

You find the word “Sin” at times in my song;
But it isn't what you, friend, may choose to think wrong.

[This is a pray'r for every mood—]

This is a pray'r for every mood—
Thy love, O Soul, be love of good.

To an Angel pictured looking through the Sky.

High Creature, watching twirl'd
This cloudy world,
See, for a seven times seven
Refulgent Heaven,
What belts of hope and fear
Involve our sphere,
Deep gloom, with fitful flash;
And be not rash
In blame, lest One discern
Thy need to learn
How man's faint orison
Strives to His Throne.

[Almighty Lord, if day by day]

[Soul's Castle fell at one blast of temptation]

Soul's Castle fell at one blast of temptation,
But many a worm had pierced the foundation.

[How argue from effects? Whate'er you do]

How argue from effects? Whate'er you do,
Least part of its effect comes into view.
Who simply acts from conscience pure and true,
Finds nothing in the consequence to rue.

[Push me, urge me]

Push me, urge me,
Goad me, scourge me,
Drag me, Lord, along thy way,—
Only, leave me not, I pray!

[Ruler above me! grant I may]

Ruler above me! grant I may
Feel right, judge right, act right, this day.

[How delightful, could I sin]

How delightful, could I sin
And yet lose nothing—always win!
How much better 'tis to see
Sin is hurt and loss to me,
Soul and sin do not agree.

[Quibble not on Good and Evil]

Quibble not on Good and Evil,
“Merely relative,” as some say;
Relativity is actual;
It alone we know and judge by.
Good and bad the outside world has,
Better, worse, through all gradations;
Every crime is truly nature,
Every noble thought and action
Nature too—but better nature.
“Natural,” this alone proves nothing;
Rattlesnakes and bugs are living.
So the microcosm within thee
May be full of reptiles, vermin,
Natural, hateful, and pernicious.

[A's life is such, you'd say his best hope lies]

A's life is such, you'd say his best hope lies
In ceasing like a bubble when he dies.
B's life—from it we should untaught surmise
Immortal hopes. Which probably is wise?

[“Must I believe in a God?” Please yourself in the matter.]

“Must I believe in a God?” Please yourself in the matter.
You alone it concerns, so long as you don't make a clatter.
Hearing words, were it merely in whisper, touching the Highest,
(Save from reverent mouth at reverent moment) thou fliest
That, my soul! As for him, of earthly nuisances chief,
Who bangs away on the empty tin-can of his nobelief,—
“Confound the impudent Fool!” is all that one cares to say,
Unless we add “To the horsepond!” if he won't go away.

[Irreverent Brute! no churchist now]

Irreverent Brute! no churchist now
Condemns thee, but one free as thou.
At God thou shoot'st thy foolish dart,
But down it drops into Man's heart.

[That God is moral may be well averr'd]

That God is moral may be well averr'd;
But not as A or B explain the word.

[Man's only true delight]

Man's only true delight
Flows from the infinite.

[When I perceive my spirit high and clear]

When I perceive my spirit high and clear
In all the world remains no doubt or fear.

[One friendly look, out of the vague and vast!]

One friendly look, out of the vague and vast!
One certain word to us, O God, at last!
—How should'st thou know, poor child, the look, the word?
Things understood, and not things seen or heard,
Can profit. Many messages thou hast.

[Ideal Truth, O Power serene]

Ideal Truth, O Power serene,
The soul's delight, and virgin queen!
Without thee what were human life?
The Nations all, in peace or strife,
But ant-hills? Found in one man's breast,
Lo! there in wondrous germ the best
Of all that human force hath wrought,
The social frame, the realms of thought,
Pleasures eternal and sublime,
A world above the world of time.
Thou hast to mortal vision given
The strength to see almost to Heaven.

[The highest, widest, noblest, thought of thine]

The highest, widest, noblest, thought of thine
Is the most true.
And is it greater than the Truth Divine?
O drop of dew
In which the glory of the sun doth shine!

[Is “purgatory”]

Is “purgatory”
An idle story?
Souls desire
To be wash'd with fire.

[I believe in GOD]

I believe in GOD,
The Person of Persons,
Ruler of all,
Just and good.
Obeying His laws,
GOD I trust
With all my soul
In life and in death.