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PSALM CXXI
INSCRIBED TO MY SISTER, R. S. B.
Lift up thine eyes unto the hills; A pure and fragrant breath Is wafted from their purple tops,-- The Heaven-sent breath of _Faith_.
Lift up thine eyes unto the hills; Beyond their shadowy slope The Sun of Righteousness doth rise In roseate dawn of _Hope_.
Lift up thine eyes unto the hills; Around, below, above, The holy sky is all aglow With the warm light of _Love_.
Lift up thine eyes unto the hills;-- Faith, Hope and Love are given To point from fading joys of earth, To endless joy of Heaven.
TO R. T. B.
ON HER MARRIAGE DAY
Sister, we know That G.o.d is good, and He hath led us on By pleasant ways or painful to this day.
Our lives went on together until now.
In childhood and in youth the same fond home Hath been our earthly refuge; the same Rock Our shelter when earth had no rest or shade.
At the same fancy we have often smiled, For the same sorrow wept; and oft our souls, In mingling aspirations, have sent up The same thanksgiving, the same burning prayer.
Yes, we have lived _together_; we have known The visible blending of the outward life Made real by the holier unison Of loving spirit and aspiring mind.
The spells of joy have bound us--and of hope, And tears--which are the diamond links of love-- Have made the chain of our affection strong.
It may be thus no more; yet--G.o.d is good-- I hush the moaning of my riven heart, And smile that thou art happy; and give thanks That thy sweet life, rejoicing, hath put on Its richest diadem, its crown of love.
May the kind Father grant that crown to be All worthy of the wearer; may His smile Lend brightness to it ever; and at last, When it is laid with earthly robes away, O may the infinite and eternal Love Rest like a glory on thy radiant brow.
ON NEW YEAR, 1897
TO G. D. AND S. F. B.
G.o.d bless you thro' this bright new year, The first you spend together; Give peace and trust thro' cloudy days, Joy in its sunny weather.
And may the days as days go by, Still richer seem and sweeter, And pa.s.sing seasons make your lives In every good completer.
There are not words to tell the love In which I could caress you; Your dear united names I breathe, And once more pray, G.o.d bless you.
TO ANNA
ON HER SIXTEENTH BIRTHDAY
Sixteen! and life to thee looks bright and fair;-- A book unread, rose-tinted, golden edged, Encased in binding curious, costly, rare;-- And all the years to be thou holdest pledged To give thee from its pages, day by day, Readings to cheer and bless the blithesome way.
And life is such a volume, only thou, From garnered storage of the heart and mind, Must fill unwritten pages, and allow Fair pictures--of pure thought, of self resigned, Of kindly deeds--each new-made page to grace;-- How blest if none thou, later, woulds't efface!
Sixteen! A May-day in the path of life, A marvelous puzzle on the finger twirled; Sixteen again; a stir of earnest strife And toil and tumult in a restless world; Repeated still,--a patient, steadfast hold On good attained,--ripe fruit, and grain of gold.
Sixteen once more! Serene in shade or sun, A brighter outlook now; existence grand!
Content in hopes fulfilled, in victories won, Mingling with holier yearnings for that land, Whose o'er-flown radiance and whose surplus bliss Have been the glory and the joy of this.
A SONG OF TENS
TO MARY
At the tenth birthday all the world looks fair; The twentieth scarcely shades it with a care; At the third decade life soars grand and high; But with the fourth its heyday pa.s.ses by.
The fifth comes on,--a century's half is told; The sixth,--our little girl is growing old.
Another half-score milestone pa.s.sed, and then We've reached the allotted three-score years and ten.
Years may be added; should they come to thee May Faith and Wisdom their companion be; Hope thy sure anchor; Peace with thee abide, And Love still be thy light at eventide.
JESSICA
A gentleman once wrote of Elizabeth Fry: "Her name has long been a word of beauty in our household."
Make thy name a word of beauty, Like the lily pure and fair, From its perfumed cup exhaling Sweetest fragrance on the air.
Make thy name a word of beauty l.u.s.trous as the ocean pearl; Constant in life's loving service, Guileless through youth's mazy whirl.
Make thy name a word of beauty, Radiant, steadfast, like a star; Shedding from a glowing center Love's effulgence near and far.
Aye, we greet thee, rare-sweet maiden, (Make it evermore thy right), Jessica--our word of beauty, Lily, pearl, and star of light.
TRANSITION
