Legends and Lyrics Volume I Part 22

I knew the perfume of their flowers; The glorious s.h.i.+ning rays Around these happy smiling hours Were lit in by-gone days.

Oh stay, I cried--bright visions, stay, And leave me not forlorn!

But, smiling still, they pa.s.sed away, Like shadows of the morn.

One spirit still remained, and cried, "Thy soul shall ne'er forget!"

He standeth ever by my side-- The phantom called Regret!

But still the spirits rose, and there Were weary hours of pain, And anxious hours of fear and care Bound by an iron chain.

Dim shadows came of lonely hours, That shunned the light of day, And in the opening smile of flowers Saw only quick decay.

Calm hours that sought the starry skies For heavenly lore were there; With folded hands and earnest eyes, I knew the hours of prayer.

Stern hours that darkened the sun's light, Heralds of coming woes, With trailing wings, before my sight From the dim past arose.

As each dark vision pa.s.sed and spoke I prayed it to depart: At each some buried sorrow woke And stirred within my heart.

Until these hours of pain and care Lifted their tearful eyes, Spread their dark pinions in the air And pa.s.sed into the skies.

VERSE: THE TWO INTERPRETERS

"The clouds are fleeting by, father, Look in the s.h.i.+ning west, The great white clouds sail onward Upon the sky's blue breast.

Look at a snowy eagle, His wings are tinged with red, And a giant dolphin follows him, With a crown upon his head!"

The father spake no word, but watched The drifting clouds roll by; He traced a misty vision too Upon the s.h.i.+ning sky: A shadowy form, with well-known grace Of weary love and care, Above the smiling child she held, Shook down her floating hair.

"The clouds are changing now, father, Mountains rise higher and higher!

And see where red and purple s.h.i.+ps Sail in a sea of fire!"

The father pressed the little hand More closely in his own, And watched a cloud-dream in the sky That he could see alone: Bright angels carrying far away A white form, cold and dead, Two held the feet, and two bore up The flower-crowned, drooping head.

"See, father, see! a glory floods The sky, and all is bright, And clouds of every hue and shade Burn in the golden light.

And now, above an azure lake, Rise battlements and towers, Where knights and ladies climb the heights, All bearing purple flowers."

The father looked, and, with a pang Of love and strange alarm, Drew close the little eager child Within his sheltering arm; From out the clouds the mother looks With wistful glance below, She seems to seek the treasure left On earth so long ago; She holds her arms out to her child, His cradle-song she sings: The last rays of the sunset gleam Upon her outspread wings.

Calm twilight veils the summer sky, The s.h.i.+ning clouds are gone; In vain the merry laughing child Still gaily prattles on; In vain the bright stars, one by one, On the blue silence start, A dreary shadow rests to-night Upon the father's heart

VERSE: COMFORT

Hast thou o'er the clear heaven of thy soul Seen tempests roll?

Hast thou watched all the hopes thou wouldst have won Fade, one by one?

Wait till the clouds are past, then raise thine eyes To bitter skies.

Hast thou gone sadly through a dreary night, And found no light, No guide, no star, to cheer thee through the plain-- No friend, save pain?

Wait, and thy soul shall see, when most forlorn, Rise a new morn.

Hast thou beneath another's stern control Bent thy sad soul, And wasted sacred hopes and precious tears?

Yet calm thy fears, For thou canst gain, even from the bitterest part, A stronger heart.

Has Fate overwhelmed thee with some sudden blow?

Let thy tears flow; But know when storms are past, the heavens appear More pure, more clear; And hope, when farthest from their s.h.i.+ning rays, For brighter days.

Hast thou found life a cheat, and worn in vain Its iron chain?

Has thy soul bent beneath earth's heavy bond?

Look thou beyond; If life is bitter--there for ever s.h.i.+ne Hopes more divine.

Art thou alone, and does thy soul complain It lives in vain?

Not vainly does he live who can endure Oh be thou sure, That he who hopes and suffers here, can earn A sure return.

Hast thou found nought within thy troubled life Save inward strife?

Hast thou found all she promised thee, Deceit, And Hope a cheat?

Endure, and there shall dawn within thy breast Eternal rest!

VERSE: HOME AT LAST

Child, do not fear; We shall reach our home to-night, For the sky is clear, And the waters bright; And the breezes have scarcely strength To unfold that little cloud, That like a shroud Spreads out its fleecy length Then have no fear, As we cleave our silver way Through the waters clear.

Fear not, my child!

Though the waves are white and high, And the storm blows wild Through the gloomy sky; On the edge of the western sea, See that line of golden light, Is the haven bright Where home is awaiting thee; Where, this peril past, We shall rest from our stormy voyage In peace at last.

Be not afraid; But give me thy hand, and see How the waves have made A cradle for thee.

Night is come, dear, and we shall rest; So turn from the angry skies, And close thine eyes, And lay thy head on my breast: Child, do not weep; In the calm, cold, purple depths There we shall sleep.

VERSE: UNEXPRESSED

Dwells within the soul of every Artist More than all his effort can express; And he knows the best remains unuttered; Sighing at what we call his success.

Vainly he may strive; he dare not tell us All the sacred mysteries of the skies: Vainly he may strive; the deepest beauty Cannot be unveiled to mortal eyes.

And the more devoutly that he listens, And the holier message that is sent, Still the more his soul must struggle vainly, Bowed beneath a n.o.ble discontent.

No great Thinker ever lived and taught you All the wonder that his soul received; No true Painter ever set on canvas All the glorious vision he conceived.