All the fluttering wishesCaged within thy heartBeat their wings against it,Longing to depart,Till they shake their prisonWith their wounded cry;Open wide thy heart to-day,And let the captives fly. Let them first fly upwardThrough the starry air,Till you almost lose them,For their home is there;Then, with outspread pinions,Circling round and round,Wing their way, whereverWant and woe […]

We ask for Peace, oh Lord!Thy children ask Thy Peace;Not what the world calls rest,That toil and care should cease,That through bright sunny hoursCalm Life should fleet away,And tranquil night should fadeIn smiling day;–It is not for such Peace that we would pray. We ask for Peace, oh Lord!Yet not to stand secure,Girt round with […]

I. If the dread day that calls thee hence,Through a red mist of fear should loom,(Closing in deadliest night and gloomLong hours of aching dumb suspense,)And leave me to my lonely doom. I think, beloved, I could seeIn thy dear eyes the loving lightGlaze into vacancy and night,And still say, “God is good to me,And […]

Dim shadows gather thickly round, and up the misty stair they climb,The cloudy stair that upward leads to where the closed portals shine,Round which the kneeling spirits wait the opening of the Golden Gate. And some with eager longing go, still pressing forward, hand in hand,And some with weary step and slow, look back where […]

Back, ye Phantoms of the Past;In your dreary caves remain:What have I to do with memoriesOf a long-forgotten pain? For my Present is all peaceful,And my Future nobly planned:Long ago Time’s mighty billowsSwept your footsteps from the sand. Back into your caves; nor haunt meWith your voices full of woe;I have buried grief and sorrowIn […]

My God, I thank Thee who hast madeThe Earth so bright;So full of splendour and of joy,Beauty and light;So many glorious things are here,Noble and right! I thank Thee, too, that Thou hast madeJoy to abound;So many gentle thoughts and deedsCircling us round,That in the darkest spot of EarthSome love is found. I thank Thee […]

Last night, when weary silence fell on all,And starless skies arose so dim and vast,I heard the Spirit of the Present callUpon the sleeping Spirit of the Past.Far off and near, I saw their radiance shine,And listened while they spoke of deeds divine. The Spirit of the Past. My deeds are writ in iron;My glory […]

A little longer yet–a little longer,Shall violets bloom for thee, and sweet birds sing;And the lime branches where soft winds are blowing,Shall murmur the sweet promise of the Spring! A little longer yet–a little longer,Thou shalt behold the quiet of the morn;While tender grasses and awakening flowersSend up a golden mist to greet the dawn! […]

The tender delicate Flowers,I saw them fanned by a warm western wind,Fed by soft summer showers,Shielded by care, and yet, (oh Fate unkind!)Fade in a few short hours. The gentle and the gay,Rich in a glorious Future of bright deeds,Rejoicing in the day,Are met by Death, who sternly, sadly leadsThem far away. And Hopes, perfumed […]

Without one bitter feeling let us part–And for the years in which your love has shedA radiance like a glory round my head,I thank you, yes, I thank you from my heart. I thank you for the cherished hope of years,A starry future, dim and yet divine,Winging its way from Heaven to be mine,Laden with […]

What lack the valleys and mountainsThat once were green and gay?What lack the babbling fountains?Their voice is sad to-day.Only the sound of a voice,Tender and sweet and low,That made the earth rejoice,A year ago! What lack the tender flowers?A shadow is on the sun:What lack the merry hours,That I long that they were done?Only two […]

A Sorrow, wet with early tearsYet bitter, had been long with me;I wearied of this weight of years,And would be free. I tore my Sorrow from my heart,I cast it far away in scorn;Right joyful that we two could part–Yet most forlorn. I sought, (to take my Sorrow’s place,)Over the world for flower or gem–But […]

Seated one day at the Organ,I was weary and ill at ease,And my fingers wandered idlyOver the noisy keys. I do not know what I was playing,Or what I was dreaming then;But I struck one chord of music,Like the sound of a great Amen. It flooded the crimson twilightLike the close of an Angel’s Psalm,And […]

I was with my lady when she died:I it was who guided her weak handFor a blessing on each little head,Laid her baby by her on the bed,Heard the words they could not understand. And I drew them round my knee that night,Hushed their childish glee, and made them sayThey would keep her words with […]

Starry Crowns of HeavenSet in azure night!Linger yet a littleEre you hide your light:-–Nay; let Starlight fade awayHeralding the day! Snowflakes pure and spotless,Still, oh, still remain,Binding dreary winter,In your silver chain:-–Nay; but melt at once and bringRadiant sunny Spring! Blossoms, gentle blossoms,Do not wither yet;Still for you the sun shines,Still the dews are wet:––Nay; […]

“Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini.” I. Who is the Angel that cometh?Life!Let us not question what he brings,Peace or Strife,Under the shade of his mighty wings,One by one,Are his secrets told;One by one,Lit by the rays of each morning sun,Shall a new flower its petals unfold,With the mystery hid in its heart of gold.We […]

If in my soul, dear,An omen should dwell,Bidding me pause, ereI love thee too well;If the whole circle,Of noble and wise,With stern forebodings,Between us should rise. I will tell them, dear,That Love reigns–a King,Where storms cannot reach him,And words cannot sting;He counts it dishonourHis faith to recall;He trusts;–and for everHe gives–and gives all! I will […]

Since I have no lands or houses,And no hoarded golden store,What can I leave those who love meWhen they see my face no more?Do not smile; I am not jesting,Though my words sound gay and light,Listen to me, dearest Alice,I will make my Will to-night. First for Mabel–who will neverLet the dust of future yearsDim […]

Listen, friend, and I will tell youWhy I sometimes seem so glad,Then, without a reason changing,Soon become so grave and sad. Half my life I live a beggar,Ragged, helpless, and alone;But the other half a monarch,With my courtiers round my throne. Half my life is full of sorrow,Half of joy, still fresh and new;One of […]

I wonder did you ever countThe value of one human fate;Or sum the infinite amountOf one heart’s treasures, and the weightOf Life’s one venture, and the whole concentrate purpose of a soul. And if you ever paused to thinkThat all this in your hands I laidWithout a fear:- did you not shrinkFrom such a burthen? […]