The father spake no word, but watched The drifting clouds roll by; He traced a misty vision too Upon the shining sky: A shadowy form, with well-known grace Of weary love and care, Above the smiling child she held, "The clouds are changing now, father, Mountains rise higher and higher! And see where red and purple ships 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 "See, father, see! a glory floods The sky, and all is bright, R 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 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, In vain the merry laughing child Still gaily prattles on; In vain the bright stars, one by one, A dreary shadow rests to-night COMFORT. AST 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 bluer skies! Hast thou gone sadly through a dreary night, No guide, no star, to cheer thee through the plain- Wait, and thy soul shall see, when most forlorn, Rise a new morn. Hast thou beneath another's stern control And wasted sacred hopes and precious tears? For thou canst gain, even from the bitterest part, Has Fate o'erwhelmed 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 shining rays, For brighter days. Hast thou found life a cheat, and worn in vain Has thy soul bent beneath earth's heavy bond? If life is bitter-there for ever shine Hopes more divine ! Art thou alone, and does thy soul complain Not vainly does he live who can endure. That he who hopes and suffers here can earn 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! |