 | Poems Old and New by Charles D. Bell |  |
LINES FOR A SILVER WEDDING.
Our wedding-day, our silver wedding-day,
O love! for us how fast
The happy years have lightly flown away,
Each quicker than the last!
These years have drawn us closer than before,
And each to other is not less, but more.
O love! for us how fast
The happy years have lightly flown away,
Each quicker than the last!
These years have drawn us closer than before,
And each to other is not less, but more.
When looking full, dear wife, into thy face,
In the clear morning's glow,
I hardly miss of thy lost youth a grace;
Though true, upon thy brow
Some lines, time-touched, I see, but lately there,
And threads of silver gleaming through thy hair.
In the clear morning's glow,
I hardly miss of thy lost youth a grace;
Though true, upon thy brow
Some lines, time-touched, I see, but lately there,
And threads of silver gleaming through thy hair.
173
Some sorrows, and some joys, some smiles and tears,
And days, some dark, some bright,
Have left a mark upon the passing years,
A chequered shade and light.
But blessings, more than any tongue can say,
Blossom'd like flowers upon our onward way.
And days, some dark, some bright,
Have left a mark upon the passing years,
A chequered shade and light.
But blessings, more than any tongue can say,
Blossom'd like flowers upon our onward way.
For you remember in the early time,
When yet the months were young,
And married life was in its early prime,
Our hearts to hope were strung.
Alas! in vain. The little fragile life
Passed from thy fond embrace to Christ's, dear wife.
When yet the months were young,
And married life was in its early prime,
Our hearts to hope were strung.
Alas! in vain. The little fragile life
Passed from thy fond embrace to Christ's, dear wife.
And when the babe, so new to earth, had died,
Ah! then with tears of pain,
We put the little empty cot aside,
Where our first-born had lain;
We hid it out of sight, we could not bear
To see the place where lay our infant fair.
Ah! then with tears of pain,
We put the little empty cot aside,
Where our first-born had lain;
We hid it out of sight, we could not bear
To see the place where lay our infant fair.
Soft now the memory of that one loss,
God-sent our faith to prove,
And, looking back, we see the bitter cross
Transfigured all by love.
Long since the grief has faded from thine eyes,
And smiles for mercies to the lips arise.
God-sent our faith to prove,
And, looking back, we see the bitter cross
Transfigured all by love.
Long since the grief has faded from thine eyes,
And smiles for mercies to the lips arise.
174
Indeed, through all the circling years till now,
Blessings have crowned our days;
Thou know'st, O Lord, and only Thou,
What cause we have for praise.
Goodness and mercy, like fair angels twin,
Have watched our going out and coming in.
Blessings have crowned our days;
Thou know'st, O Lord, and only Thou,
What cause we have for praise.
Goodness and mercy, like fair angels twin,
Have watched our going out and coming in.
What shall the years bring in the coming time,
Bright joy or boding fear?
Shall bells ring merrily, or funeral chime
Strike sadly on the ear?
I shrink from this; oh! may I go before
One dear one leaves us for the other shore.
Bright joy or boding fear?
Shall bells ring merrily, or funeral chime
Strike sadly on the ear?
I shrink from this; oh! may I go before
One dear one leaves us for the other shore.
We will not talk of this—sweet love and hope,
Are they not with us still?
They gild our life as sunbeams do the slope
Of yonder purple hill.
I cannot think that there are days for me
Emptied of joy, because unshared by thee.
Are they not with us still?
They gild our life as sunbeams do the slope
Of yonder purple hill.
I cannot think that there are days for me
Emptied of joy, because unshared by thee.
No thoughts of sadness must o'ercast this day,
Our silver wedding, love;
In all our sky must be no tint of grey,
But sunshine from above.
Hark! children's voices on the air are borne,
They haste to greet us on this happy morn.
Our silver wedding, love;
In all our sky must be no tint of grey,
But sunshine from above.
Hark! children's voices on the air are borne,
They haste to greet us on this happy morn.
175
Let us go forth to meet them as they come;
Ah, wife! words cannot tell
How rich in many a mercy is our home,
God doeth all things well.
So take we heart to front the unknown years,
Love will survive tho' all else disappears.
Ah, wife! words cannot tell
How rich in many a mercy is our home,
God doeth all things well.
So take we heart to front the unknown years,
Love will survive tho' all else disappears.
| Poems Old and New by Charles D. Bell | |