Seed Time And Harvest
“Thou waterest her furrows, thou sendest rain into the little valleys thereof; thou makest it soft with the drops of rain, and blessest the increase of it.” Fret not thyself so sorely, heart of mine, For that the pain hath roughly broke thy rest,- That thy wild flowers lie dead upon thy breast, Whereon […]
Recollection
A wave-worn boulder, with green sea-moss wrapping A silken mantle o’er its jagged sides; And silvery, seething waters softly lapping Through gulfs and channels hollow’d by the tides: A lime-cliff overhead, o’erhanging grimly, A dash of sunlight on its breast of snow; The white line of the breakers, stretching dimly Along the narrow sea-beach […]
Practising The Anthem
A summer wind blows through the open porch, And, ‘neath the rustling eaves, A summer light of moonrise, calm and pale, Shines through a vale of leaves. The soft gusts bring a scent of summer flowers, Fresh with the falling dew, And round the doorway, glimmering white as snow, The tender petals strew. Clear […]
Practising Anthem
A summer wind blows through the open porch, And, ‘neath the rustling eaves, A summer light of moonrise, calm and pale, Shines through a vale of leaves. The soft gusts bring a scent of summer flowers, Fresh with the falling dew, And round the doorway, glimmering white as snow, The tender petals strew. Clear […]
Peace
The red-rose flush fades slowly in the west. The golden water, basking in the light, Pales to clear amber and to silver white. The velvet shadow of a flame-crowned crest Lies dark and darker on its shining breast, Till lonely mere and isle and mountain-height Grow dim as dreams in tender mist of night, […]
On Australian Hills
Earth, outward tuning on her path in space This pensive southern face, Swathing its smile and shine In that soft veil that day and darkness twine, The silver-threaded twilight thin and fine, With April dews impearled, Looms like another and diviner world. Here April brings her garnered harvest-sheaf, Her withered autumn leaf, Tintings of […]
Mirage
Is it a will-o’-the-wisp, or is dawn breaking, That our horizon wears so strange a hue? Is it but one more dream, or are we waking To find that dreams, at last, are coming true? Aye, surely, in that golden glimmer streaking The cloudy sky-line of the life of man We see the blessed […]
Memoriam
“He asked life of thee, and thou gavest him a long life, even for ever and ever.” Life-length of days-the time to work and strive In his Lord’s vineyard; to bring heavenly light Into the drear, dark places of the earth, And make them fair and fruitful in His sight. Life-it seem’d all so […]
Mates
It boots not to retrace the path To ages dim and hoar, When Man, at the domestic hearth, First learned the art of war, And-since in battle one must fall- Held his defeated spouse in thrall, That she should fight no more; And thereby doomed to sleep and sloth Strength that in action strengthened […]
Lord Nevils Advice
“Friend,” quoth Lord Nevil, “thou art young To face the world, and thou art blind To subtle ways of womankind; The meshes thou wilt fall among. “Take an old married man’s advice; Use the experience I have earned; Watch well where women are concerned,- They’re not all birds of paradise! “Be circumspect, or thou […]
Lord Nevil039s Advice
“Friend,” quoth Lord Nevil, “thou art young To face the world, and thou art blind To subtle ways of womankind; The meshes thou wilt fall among. “Take an old married man’s advice; Use the experience I have earned; Watch well where women are concerned,- They’re not all birds of paradise! “Be circumspect, or thou […]
Looking In The Fire
The snow falls soft and thick. My cedar bough Sways up and down, and scratches on the glass. The wind sighs in the chimney, as I sit, With elbows on my knees, before the fire, Resting a crumpled chin in hollow’d palms. There is great trouble in the cold and dark; And other girls […]
Looking Fire
The snow falls soft and thick. My cedar bough Sways up and down, and scratches on the glass. The wind sighs in the chimney, as I sit, With elbows on my knees, before the fire, Resting a crumpled chin in hollow’d palms. There is great trouble in the cold and dark; And other girls […]
Learn
Learn, learn, learn,- Our beautiful world is not a field for sheep; Not just a place wherein to laugh and weep, To eat and drink, to dance and sigh and sleep. And then to moulder into senseless dust. Learn, learn, learn,- Look up and learn-you cannot look too high! Not for the earthly wealth […]
Last Battle Cid
Low he lay upon his dying couch, the knight without a stain, The unconquered Cid Campeadór, the bright breastplate of Spain, The incarnate honour of Castille, of Aragon and Navarre, Very crown of Spanish chivalry, Rodrigo of Bivar! Sick he lay, and grieved in spirit, for that Paynim dogs should dare Camp around his […]
Influence
As in the deeps of embryonic night, Out of unfathomable obscurities Of Nature’s womb, the little life-germs rise, Pushing and pulsing upward to the light; As, when the first day dawns on waking sight, They leap to liberty and recognize The golden sunshine and the morning skies Their home and goal and heritage and […]
Individuality
Phew! ‘T’is a stuffy and stupid place, This social edifice by Custom wrought- This fenced enclosure wherein all are caught, The great and small, the noble and the base, And squeezed and flattened to one common face. Air, air for springing fancy, errant thought! Scope to make something of the seeming nought! Room for […]
In Memoriam
“He asked life of thee, and thou gavest him a long life, even for ever and ever.” Life-length of days-the time to work and strive In his Lord’s vineyard; to bring heavenly light Into the drear, dark places of the earth, And make them fair and fruitful in His sight. Life-it seem’d all so […]
Honour
Me let the world disparage and despise – As one unfettered with its gilded chains, As one untempted by its sordid gains, Its pleasant vice, its profitable lies; Let Justice, blind and halt and maimed, chastise The rebel spirit surging in my veins, Let the Law deal me penalties and pains And make me […]
Home Sick
O time, great Healer! canst thou still The crying hearts that feel the knife? O great Restorer, canst thou fill The wide gaps broken out of life By love and duty’s bitter strife? O Friend, and canst thou, as they say, Soothe all our troubles on thy breast, Till, calm in death, they pass […]
Holy Communion
Father, for Jesus’ sake, Low at the footstool of Thy throne, I pray That Thou, into Thine arms of love, to-day My trembling soul wilt take. Thine eyes can see, I know, How many a dark and fearful spot of sin Stains the white garment Thou didst clothe it in, Once undefiled as snow. […]
Hand Dark
How calm the spangled city spread below! How cool the night! How fair the starry skies! How sweet the dewy breezes! But I know What, under all their seeming beauty, lies. That million-fibred heart, alive, is wrung With every grief that human creatures fear. Could its dumb anguish find a fitting tongue The very […]
Granny
Here, in her elbow chair, she sits A soul alert, alive, A poor old body shrunk and bent- The queen-bee of the hive. But hives of bees and hives of men Obey their several laws; No fiercely-loving filial throng This mother-head adores. This bringer of world-wealth, whereof None may compute the worth, Is possibly […]
Future Verdict
How will our unborn children scoff at us In the good years to come, The happier years to come, Because, like driven sheep, we yielded thus, Before the shearers dumb. What are the words their wiser lips will say? “These men had gained the light; “These women knew the right; “They had their chance, […]
Easter Decorations
O take away your dried and painted garlands! The snow-cloth’s fallen from each quicken’d brow, The stone’s rolled off the sepulchre of winter, And risen leaves and flowers are wanted now. Send out the little ones, that they may gather With their pure hands the firstlings of the birth,- Green-golden tufts and delicate half-blown […]
Dawnlight On The Sea
When I kneel down the dawn is only breaking; Sleep fetters still the brown wings of the lark; The wind blows pure and cool, for day is waking, But stars are scattered still about the dark. With open lattice, looking out and praying, Ere yet the toil and trouble must be faced, I see […]
Dawn
All the wild waves rock’d in shadow, And the world was dim and grey, Dark and silent, hush’d and breathless, Waiting calmly for the day. And the golden light came stealing O’er the mountain-tops at last- Flooding vale and wood and upland,- It was morning-night was past. There they lay-the silvery waters, Fruitful forests, […]
Dawn God039s Sabbath
The dawn of God’s dear Sabbath Breaks o’er the earth again, As some sweet summer morning After a night of pain; It comes as cooling showers To some exhausted land, As shade of clustered palm trees ‘Mid weary wastes of sand. Lord, we would bring for offering Though marred with earthly soil, Our week […]
Candle Lord
“The Spirit of man is the candle of the Lord.” “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.” Our spirit-ay, our own!-the tree whose fruits Have never fail’d-the sign upon the door ‘Twixt us and God’s intelligent dumb brutes, That parts us evermore! Our spirit-last, best gift-still […]
By The Camp Fire
Ah, ’twas but now I saw the sun flush pink on yonder placid tide; The purple hill-tops, one by one, were strangely lit and glorified; And yet how sweet the night has grown, with palest starlights dimly sown! Those mountain ranges, far and near, enclasp me,- sharply pencilled there, Like blackest sea-waves,-outlined here, like […]
By A Norfolk Broad
One hour ago the crimson sun, that seemed so long a-drowning, sank. The summer day is all but done. Our boat is moored beneath the bank. I bask in peace, content, replete-my faithful comrade at my feet. The water-violet shuts its eye; the water-lily petals close; So in the evening light we lie and […]
Baptistry
One winter eve, at twilight, when the sound Of sorrowful winds scarce troubled Nature’s rest, As she lay sleeping, with her hair unbound, Holding her grey robe to her shivering breast, I enter’d through a low-arch’d oaken door, Circled with curious sculpture; and I crept With slow, hush’d footsteps, o’er the shadow’d floor, Where […]
Aunt Dorothys Lecture
Come, go and practise-get your work- Do something, Nelly, pray. I hate to see you moon about In this uncertain way! Why do you look so vacant, child? I fear you must be ill. Surely you are not thinking of That Captain Cameron still? Ah, yes-I fear’d so! You may blush; I blush for […]
At Sea
When the investing darkness growls, And deep reverberates to deep; When keyhole whines and chimney howls, And all the roofs and windows weep; Then, through the doorless walls of sleep, The still-sealed ear and shuttered sight, Phantoms of memory steal and creep, The very ghosts of sound and light- Dream-visions and dream-voices of a […]
At Long Last
Late, late, the prize is drawn, the goal attained, The Heart’s Desire fulfilled, Love’s guerdon gained. Wealth’s use is past, Fame’s crown of laurel mocks The downward-drooping head and grizzled locks. The end is reached-the end of toil and strife- The end of life. Love flowers and fades like grass, and flowers again; The […]
An Old Doll
Low on her little stool she sits To make a nursing lap, And cares for nothing but the form Her little arms enwrap. With hairless skull that gapes apart, A broken plaster ball, One chipped glass eye that squints askew, And ne’er a nose at all- No raddle left on grimy cheek, No mouth […]
An Anniversary
I. AS flower to sun its drop of dew Gives from its crystal cup, So I, as morning gift to you, This poor verse offer up. II. As flowers upon the summer wind Their air-born odours shake, So, in all fragrance you may find, I give but what I take. III. My tree blooms […]
All Saints Day 1868
“But they are at peace.” Never to weary more, nor suffer sorrow,- Their strife all over, and their work all done: At peace-and only waiting for the morrow; Heaven’s rest and rapture even now begun. So tired once! long fetter’d, sorely burden’d, Ye struggled hard and well for your release; Ye fought in faith […]
All Saints Day 1867
Blessed are they whose baby-souls are bright, Whose brows are sealèd with the cross of light, Whom God Himself has deign’d to robe in white- Blessed are they! Blessed are they who follow through the wild His sacred footprints, as a little child; Who strive to keep their garments undefiled- Blessed are they! Blessed […]
After Our Likeness
Before me now a little picture lies- A little shadow of a childish face, Childishly sweet, yet with the dawning grace Of thought and wisdom on her lips and eyes. Fair, oval, broad-brow’d face-small, delicate head- Transparent skin, with blue veins shining through- All the soft outlines, beautiful and true, Bring me the echo […]