The Poetical Works of Robert Montgomery Collected and Revised by the Author |
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 | The Poetical Works of Robert Montgomery |  |
POWER OF THE DEAD.
“I praised the dead which are already dead, more
than the living which are yet alive.”—Eccles. iv. 2.
“Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, from
thenceforth ------ They rest from their labours.”
—Rev. xiv. 13.
My thoughts are with the dear and dead,
Who wake the inward sigh,
And here an atmosphere have spread
Breathed from the days gone by.
Who wake the inward sigh,
And here an atmosphere have spread
Breathed from the days gone by.
Then do not mock the mental gloom
That o'er my brow is stealing;
For, could I walk this well-known room
Without an ancient feeling?
That o'er my brow is stealing;
For, could I walk this well-known room
Without an ancient feeling?
What genial hours of mirth and glee
Have here those bright friends known,
Who since to hush'd eternity
Like living Dreams have flown!
Have here those bright friends known,
Who since to hush'd eternity
Like living Dreams have flown!
And think not that a stoic chill
Is o'er my present cast;
But, something more than mem'ry will
Untomb the buried past.
Is o'er my present cast;
But, something more than mem'ry will
Untomb the buried past.
What, though these walls no longer now
Present that houschold grace,—
A pictured father's pensive brow,
A mother's beaming face,
Present that houschold grace,—
A pictured father's pensive brow,
A mother's beaming face,
Yet, I can almost hear them speak,
And wake each cheerful tone,
And catch the gladness of her cheek
That lighted up my own.
And wake each cheerful tone,
And catch the gladness of her cheek
That lighted up my own.
Oh, here has swell'd the choral song,
And music's charm hath been,
While mellow'd feelings moved along
Like waves in moonlight seen.
And music's charm hath been,
While mellow'd feelings moved along
Like waves in moonlight seen.
And kindly words of love and truth
From lips now cold in death,
Come wafted from the days of youth,
Like resurrection-breath!
From lips now cold in death,
Come wafted from the days of youth,
Like resurrection-breath!
So full the present fills the past
With tenderness and tears,
Time seems by some fond Angel cast
Back into buried years.
With tenderness and tears,
Time seems by some fond Angel cast
Back into buried years.
I think of her whose azure eyes
Were motherly and mild,
Clear as the morn's cerulean skies,
In sweetness when they smiled:
Were motherly and mild,
Clear as the morn's cerulean skies,
In sweetness when they smiled:
Gentle in tone, and graceful, too,
In motion, mind, and mien,
How warm the social ray she threw
O'er each domestic scene!
In motion, mind, and mien,
How warm the social ray she threw
O'er each domestic scene!
As mother, wife, and peerless friend,
In all her ways appear'd
A beauteous Soul, in whom did blend
The graces love revered.
In all her ways appear'd
A beauteous Soul, in whom did blend
The graces love revered.
And he whose world-wide fame is wed
To History and to Man,
Though number'd with th' immortal dead,
How high a course he ran!
To History and to Man,
Though number'd with th' immortal dead,
How high a course he ran!
I see him now, his fervid gaze
Illumined keen with thought,
And glow beneath the flashing rays
From his bright wisdom caught.
Illumined keen with thought,
And glow beneath the flashing rays
From his bright wisdom caught.
With heavenly truth historic lore
His works have nobly blent,
And Time, who keeps our mental store,
Shall make his monument.
His works have nobly blent,
And Time, who keeps our mental store,
Shall make his monument.
37
Can I forget that hoary sage,
The generous, pure, and good,
Who counsell'd oft my unripe age
As only Virtue could?
The generous, pure, and good,
Who counsell'd oft my unripe age
As only Virtue could?
And, when I dared to strike the lyre
In loneliness and fear,
Who bade me as the Bard aspire,
And woke my grateful tear!
In loneliness and fear,
Who bade me as the Bard aspire,
And woke my grateful tear!
But, like a vision all are gone
To join the world unseen,
And when these walls I gaze upon,
I ask,—if such have been?
To join the world unseen,
And when these walls I gaze upon,
I ask,—if such have been?
Mysterious Charm! Oh, solemn Past,
How deeply felt art thou!
Beyond the scenes around us cast,
The world exciting now.
How deeply felt art thou!
Beyond the scenes around us cast,
The world exciting now.
The touching thought—no more! no more!
Doth sanctify the room,
Where blending Hearts embraced of yore,
Now pulseless in the tomb.
Doth sanctify the room,
Where blending Hearts embraced of yore,
Now pulseless in the tomb.
But, why and whence, we cannot tell,
A living moment fails
To rule us with that inward spell
Which from the past prevails.
A living moment fails
To rule us with that inward spell
Which from the past prevails.
The perish'd bloom of boyhood's prime
How beautiful it seems,
When, tinged with melancholy time,
It dawns upon our dreams!
How beautiful it seems,
When, tinged with melancholy time,
It dawns upon our dreams!
Forth from the heart there went a hue
Which made the world romance;
But ah, how changed and chill the view
As riper years advance!
Which made the world romance;
But ah, how changed and chill the view
As riper years advance!
Rank, wealth, and reputation, all
Must leave the breast a void,
Whene'er our yearning hearts recall
What vanish'd youth enjoy'd.
Must leave the breast a void,
Whene'er our yearning hearts recall
What vanish'd youth enjoy'd.
Eternity familiar reads
To Faith's perusing eye,
As spirit after spirit speeds
To populate the sky.
To Faith's perusing eye,
As spirit after spirit speeds
To populate the sky.
Each added year that Home commends
Where Souls unbodied dwell,
To all, who feel how parted friends
Retain their living spell:
Where Souls unbodied dwell,
To all, who feel how parted friends
Retain their living spell:
For while we tread the room they trod
And haunt the scene they chose,
We love to think they dwell in God,
All rapture, and repose!
And haunt the scene they chose,
We love to think they dwell in God,
All rapture, and repose!
| The Poetical Works of Robert Montgomery | |