Poems

"Love inspires, illumines, designates, and leads the way" ( Science and Health, p. 454 ).

I dreamed I saw the world a misty void, And darkness lay upon the watery deep. 'Twas vague and meaningless, no purpose lent it motion; I looked more closely, and the darkness deepened, Yet seemed it that I saw with more distinctness; Could this be Mind, expressed thus in confusion? Or this be Life, hedged in by finiteness, And stayed by this strange thing called time With nameless terror spreading apathy? Held by some spell, in fear and doubt I watched The fruitless birth-throes of its centuries; The cruel wars for wealth, for pride, for power, That knew no mercy for the vanquished foe; Vain wars where blinding superstition strove To force with carnage unity of thought; Then wars for freedom, that each might pursue In his own way his own concept of good; Then kindlier feelings, sacrificing self For others' welfare.

O father , hold me close! the little child Cries out, as breaks and beats the tempest wild. He rests secure within his father's arms, Yet murmurs, startled at the wind's alarms, O father, hold me close! O Father, hold me close! I too would cry.

' Twas only an earthen pitcher She brought, with a cooling draft; 'Twas cracked in a dozen places, And many who saw it laughed. The little one's sweet lips quivered, And her smiling eyes grew sad: "You wanted a drink of water, And this pitcher is all I had.

Blest star of Truth, thy soft and radiant light Foretells the perfect day, a God-crowned morn! Unto us each the Christ-idea is born; Now faded is the dark tempestuous night. Blest star of Love, a watchman that doth guide Far from the seeming mists of grim despair Into the realm of pure, celestial air, Where naught but Life and harmony abide.

Hark , the lilt of a robin's song! What cares he for raindrops falling? Piercing the clouds, the sunbeams dance, To him, their comrade, calling. Fresh, shy, and sweet the primrose grows, Pure, though the earth be mud-defiled; Rich in beauty, fair in promise, Smiling like a little child.

Give me, O life,—I thoughtlessly cried, When the years were young and the skies were gold, When the world in my sight was a wonderland wide And the hours were robins that sang A rapturous lay,— Give me radiance, pleasure, and gain— The laughter of things but never the fang!— Music and fame and red roses untold And the brimming flagon of fortune to drain! This was the prayer I prayed, Awaiting the day. Give me, O life,—I wearily asked, When later the years loomed lurid and long, When the wonderland-world by shadow was masked— A songless, desolate close Where hope lay stark,— Give me the key to the riddle—the Why Of the wall at the end, the thorn on the rose! Is this hollowness all, this riot of wrong, Or is there a hope and a heaven on high? This was the prayer I prayed, Awaiting the dark.

'Tis ours to watch and pray, for she has taught The accepted prayer of purified desire: The cup of healing that her hand has brought Is ours forever: while her words of fire Still urge us onward to the beckoning heavens, and higher. She showed the way that Jesus showed of yore, That sin and hate and man's deceitfulness Had quite o'ercast, and shrouded more and more: We first rejected her, then learned to bless, And now our joy for her o'erwhelms our hearts' distress.

Why haltest thou here, O thou loitering one, And why art thou looking so sad? For they who are traveling the royal highway Press onward with faces all glad. Dost fear there are lions besetting the path? Love has conquered them, once and for all; And never a danger upon thee shall come, Nor an evil to thee befall.

As nature's shower and sunshine bring From fertile soil each tender thing, New thoughts, like birds upon the wing, In praise to God, rise, soar, and sing; While flowers to all their fragrance fling, As they come forth at call of spring. So Truth, unfolding beauteous, fair, Within our hearts its flowers rare — Love, constancy, devotion, prayer, Whose fragrance gentle zephyrs bear To soothe the heartsick, sweeten care — Doth call, Come forth — Love's freedom share! O earth-bound mortal; matter, clay Is not true soil nor substance; nay, 'Tis but a shadow which one ray Of light dispels and clears the way.