Poems By William Walsham How ... New and Enlarged Edition |
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The Thunder Cloud.
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19
The Thunder Cloud.
Vivid against the mighty thunderstorm
Stand up the sunny trees into the sky,
Bright in the darkness, all distinct in form,
And, as the breeze goes by
That freshens onward, glittering cheerfully.
Stand up the sunny trees into the sky,
Bright in the darkness, all distinct in form,
And, as the breeze goes by
That freshens onward, glittering cheerfully.
And see how gloriously the silver spire
Is piercing up just where the sullen cloud
Breaks in uneven rent of ruddy fire;
And all the hill is browed
With light, cut out into the awful shroud.
Is piercing up just where the sullen cloud
Breaks in uneven rent of ruddy fire;
And all the hill is browed
With light, cut out into the awful shroud.
How often with a cold and dreary swell
The fields on that same hill slope far away!
And when the sky is clear, you scarce could tell
The church, so bright to-day,
Were there, still pointing to the heav'n as aye.
The fields on that same hill slope far away!
And when the sky is clear, you scarce could tell
The church, so bright to-day,
Were there, still pointing to the heav'n as aye.
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And who shall say the sorrow-clouds we meet
With no new lustre clothe the forms between;
And that the hope and joy are not more sweet
Because that there hath been
A cloud and rain-drops on the shining scene?
With no new lustre clothe the forms between;
And that the hope and joy are not more sweet
Because that there hath been
A cloud and rain-drops on the shining scene?
Oh! if the Church's hand to weary eye
Point up to heav'n more plainly than before,
If on dim earth a heavenly radiance lie,—
Then let us weep no more,
But the dark cloud, for all it shows, adore!
Point up to heav'n more plainly than before,
If on dim earth a heavenly radiance lie,—
Then let us weep no more,
But the dark cloud, for all it shows, adore!
(1847.)
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