Songs Old and New ... Collected Edition [by Elizabeth Charles] |
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THE POWER OF LIFE. |
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 | Songs Old and New |  |
100
THE POWER OF LIFE.
“The spring is coming apace, Mother,
Yet the old leaves will not fall;
If they do not hasten, the young leaves
Will find no room at all.
Yet the old leaves will not fall;
If they do not hasten, the young leaves
Will find no room at all.
“Shall I shake the beech-tree branches
Like the winds in their autumn-play,
Till the dead leaves fall in showers,
Together, all in a day?
Like the winds in their autumn-play,
Till the dead leaves fall in showers,
Together, all in a day?
“Shall I climb where they are clinging
And pluck them one by one,
That the baby leaves may stretch themselves,
And be glad, and feel the sun?”
And pluck them one by one,
That the baby leaves may stretch themselves,
And be glad, and feel the sun?”
“'Twere a weary task to pluck them
Thus singly, my child, away;
'Twould need a stronger arm than thine
To sweep them down in a day.
Thus singly, my child, away;
'Twould need a stronger arm than thine
To sweep them down in a day.
101
“Maybe since thus they linger,
They've something left to do;
Maybe the poor old withered leaves
Still cradle and shelter the new.”
They've something left to do;
Maybe the poor old withered leaves
Still cradle and shelter the new.”
“But, Mother, the world is waiting,
And the birds on every tree;
Will God send a mighty tempest
To set the young leaves free?”
And the birds on every tree;
Will God send a mighty tempest
To set the young leaves free?”
Be patient, my child, be patient,
The old Earth knows her way;
And the Lord of Life is working,
He is working every day.
The old Earth knows her way;
And the Lord of Life is working,
He is working every day.
He sent His winds in autumn,
He will send them yet again;
The winds, and storms and lightnings,
With the sweeping floods of rain.
He will send them yet again;
The winds, and storms and lightnings,
With the sweeping floods of rain.
They are safe in His hands, the tempests,
In His, but not in ours;
No hand may wield the lightnings
But the hand that folds the flowers.
In His, but not in ours;
No hand may wield the lightnings
But the hand that folds the flowers.
He is Lord of the winds and thunders,
But has stronger powers than they;
And the Lord of Life is working,
He is working every day.
But has stronger powers than they;
102
He is working every day.
Last year the tiny leaf-bud
Peeped from the old leaf's stalk,
And all through the noisy winter
It heard the wild winds talk.
Peeped from the old leaf's stalk,
And all through the noisy winter
It heard the wild winds talk.
It heard them fiercely boasting
How they swept the dead away,
But it only kept growing, growing;—
It could wait, it was stronger than they.
How they swept the dead away,
But it only kept growing, growing;—
It could wait, it was stronger than they.
For the power of life was stirring
That shielding sheath within,
Growing, silently growing
Through all the storm and din;
That shielding sheath within,
Growing, silently growing
Through all the storm and din;
Till now one fair spring morning
When the sunbeams all awake,
They will touch it, will softly kiss it,
And its last slight fetters break.
When the sunbeams all awake,
They will touch it, will softly kiss it,
And its last slight fetters break.
The old leaf will fall, and the leaf-sheath,
The young spread glad and green,
And gaze on the sun in his beauty
Without a veil between.
The young spread glad and green,
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Without a veil between.
For the Lord of Life is working,
And His strongest force is life;
Ever with death it wageth
Silent, victorious strife.
And His strongest force is life;
Ever with death it wageth
Silent, victorious strife.
Ever with death it weaveth
The warp and woof of the world,
The nights when the forces are gathered,
The dawns with their banners unfurled.
The warp and woof of the world,
The nights when the forces are gathered,
The dawns with their banners unfurled.
And Truth is stronger than Falsehood,
And needs but an open field;
And Love is stronger than Hatred,
And Love will never yield.
And needs but an open field;
And Love is stronger than Hatred,
And Love will never yield.
For God is love, and He liveth,
And life is His living breath,
And one breath of life is stronger
Than all the hosts of death.
And life is His living breath,
And one breath of life is stronger
Than all the hosts of death.
Yes; God is love, and He liveth,
And life is His living breath,
And the pulses of life gain vigour
'Neath the shroud and the sleep of death.
And life is His living breath,
And the pulses of life gain vigour
'Neath the shroud and the sleep of death.
| Songs Old and New | |