 | Reverberations |  |
184
A PROPHECY.
“It is with reason that the modern mind sees its golden age in the distant future, as the ancient mind saw it in the forgotten past. But however bright and glorious may be the destination of mankind, its onward progress is marked by irksome toil and bitter sorrow.”—Fiske's Cosmic Theism.
Waken, nations praised in story;
Waken to a holier glory;
Rise from out your charmèd slumber,
Spurn grey Custom's lawless ban;
Gather like the stars in number,
Race with race, and man with man.
One through love; by law of love,
Stars that cross the sky's blue border
Balance, as they glide above,
Orb with orb, in endless order.
Brave be man, robust and whole,
One his aim, his vision single;
Heart with heart, and soul with soul,
Mingle as the waters mingle.
Darkness wanes! behold the light!
Waken, brothers, and unite!
Waken to a holier glory;
Rise from out your charmèd slumber,
Spurn grey Custom's lawless ban;
Gather like the stars in number,
Race with race, and man with man.
One through love; by law of love,
Stars that cross the sky's blue border
Balance, as they glide above,
Orb with orb, in endless order.
Brave be man, robust and whole,
One his aim, his vision single;
Heart with heart, and soul with soul,
Mingle as the waters mingle.
Darkness wanes! behold the light!
Waken, brothers, and unite!
Lords of Science! ye who read
Rightly the eternal creed,
Writ in sky and sea and land,
By the fair wise Nature's hand,
Chant from stone and starry pages
The old lore that moulds the ages.
Poets! who have bravely striven
To o'ershadow earth with heaven,
Faint not in your noble duty,
Feed the heart of earth with beauty,
And with old religious light
Bid her dreamy face grow bright.
Statesmen! who have called on power
To give man one happy hour,
Heaven is opened; look on high;
Peace, the rainbow, spans the sky.
All pure hearts! your task renew,
For the world hath need of you.
Simple minds that every day
Watch and wait, and think and pray!
Ye are children of one mother,
Save and succour one another;
Sow, and ye shall harvest good;
Stand, ye cannot be withstood.
Darkness wanes! behold the light!
Waken, brothers, and unite!
Rightly the eternal creed,
185
By the fair wise Nature's hand,
Chant from stone and starry pages
The old lore that moulds the ages.
Poets! who have bravely striven
To o'ershadow earth with heaven,
Faint not in your noble duty,
Feed the heart of earth with beauty,
And with old religious light
Bid her dreamy face grow bright.
Statesmen! who have called on power
To give man one happy hour,
Heaven is opened; look on high;
Peace, the rainbow, spans the sky.
All pure hearts! your task renew,
For the world hath need of you.
Simple minds that every day
Watch and wait, and think and pray!
Ye are children of one mother,
Save and succour one another;
Sow, and ye shall harvest good;
Stand, ye cannot be withstood.
Darkness wanes! behold the light!
Waken, brothers, and unite!
Waken, O my poets, waken!
Let your trumpet-notes be heard;
Let humanity be shaken
At each pale prophetic word,
As a city rocks and swings,
When the giant earthquake springs.
Waken ye whom love hath taught
Wisest lessons to impart,
Sovereigns of melodious thought,
Lords whose empire is the heart.
Waken ye who suffer wrong;
Ye who lighten woe be strong;
Charity and truth are grown
Mightier far than sword or throne.
Patience, brothers, and endurance,
These shall give your souls assurance;
There is courage in your meekness,
Strength itself is born of weakness;
And if hope should fade and leave you,
Even despair new hope would give you.
Let your trumpet-notes be heard;
Let humanity be shaken
At each pale prophetic word,
As a city rocks and swings,
186
Waken ye whom love hath taught
Wisest lessons to impart,
Sovereigns of melodious thought,
Lords whose empire is the heart.
Waken ye who suffer wrong;
Ye who lighten woe be strong;
Charity and truth are grown
Mightier far than sword or throne.
Patience, brothers, and endurance,
These shall give your souls assurance;
There is courage in your meekness,
Strength itself is born of weakness;
And if hope should fade and leave you,
Even despair new hope would give you.
Throned in dim ideal halls,
Dwells the Soul of souls unseen,
And her radiant shadow falls
Aweful, lovely, and serene,
Over men, when, calm and clear,
Flows the Spirit's atmosphere,
And a courage true and tender,
Breathed out of that cloudy splendour,
Bids the children of the sky
Nobly live or bravely die. . .
Waken, souls of poets dead!
Fraud and hate are vanquishèd;
Wail not for the golden years,
Shed no longer crimson tears.
Waken, and behold the dawn!
See the Eternal Morning rise,
And beneath the opening skies,
Waving forest, gleaming lawn
Of returning Paradise.
Dwells the Soul of souls unseen,
And her radiant shadow falls
Aweful, lovely, and serene,
Over men, when, calm and clear,
Flows the Spirit's atmosphere,
And a courage true and tender,
Breathed out of that cloudy splendour,
Bids the children of the sky
Nobly live or bravely die. . .
187
Fraud and hate are vanquishèd;
Wail not for the golden years,
Shed no longer crimson tears.
Waken, and behold the dawn!
See the Eternal Morning rise,
And beneath the opening skies,
Waving forest, gleaming lawn
Of returning Paradise.
| Reverberations | |