Then shall the good stand in immortal bloom, With that of flowers, which never bloomed on earth. With thy rude ploughshare, Death, turn up the sod, This is the place, where human harvests grow! TO THE RIVER CHARLES R IVER! that in silence windest Through the meadows, bright and free, Till at length thy rest thou findest In the bosom of the sea! Four long years of mingled feeling, Thou hast taught me, Silent River! Oft in sadness and in illness, I have watched thy current glide, And in better hours and brighter, I have felt my heart beat lighter, Not for this alone I love thee, Nor because thy waves of blue From celestial seas above thee Take their own celestial hue. Where yon shadowy woodlands hide thee, Friends I love have dwelt beside thee, More than this; thy name reminds me Of three friends, all true and tried ; And that name, like magic, binds me Closer, closer to thy side. Friends my soul with joy remembers! On the hearth-stone of my heart! 'Tis for this, thou Silent River! B BLIND BARTIMEUS LIND Bartimeus at the gates Of Jericho in darkness waits; He hears the crowd ;- he hears a breath And calls, in tones of agony, The thronging multitudes increase; Until they say, "He calleth thee!" Θάρσει, ἔγειραι, φωνεῖ σε! Then saith the Christ, as silent stands The crowd, "What wilt thou at my hands?" And he replies, "O give me light! Rabbi, restore the blind man's sight!" And Jesus answers, "Yaye Ἡ πίστις σου σέσωκέ σε! Ye that have eyes, yet cannot see, Recall those mighty Voices Three, Ἰησοῦ, ἐλέησόν με ! Θάρσει, ἔγειραι, ύπαγε ! Ἡ πίστις σου σέσωκέ σε! THE GOBLET OF LIFE 'ILLED is Life's goblet to the brim; I see its sparkling bubbles swim, With solemn voice and slow. No purple flowers, no garlands green, This goblet, wrought with curious art, And as it mantling passes round, With fennel is it wreathed and crowned, Whose seed and foliage sun-imbrowned Are in its waters steeped and drowned, And give a bitter taste. Above the lowly plants it towers, It gave new strength, and fearless mood; Then in Life's goblet freely press, New light and strength they give! And he who has not learned to know He has not learned to live. |