Questions & Answers
Mighty Truth of Heavenly birth, Angels bring thee near; Rise, ye children of the earth, You are bidden here. Blessings e'er thy steps attend, All "thy paths are peace.
Her years steal by like birds through cloudless skies, Soft singing as they go; She views their flight with sunshine in her eyes, She hears their music low, And on her forehead, beautiful and wise, Shines love's most holy glow. There is no pain for her in Time's soft flight, Her spirit is so fair; Her days shine as they pass her, in the light Her gentle doings wear; On her fair brow I never saw the night, But hope's glad star shone there.
Sport of the changeful multitude, Nor calmly heard, nor understood, Thy song has seemed a trick of art, Thy warnings but the actor's part. With bonds, and scorn, and evil will, The world requites its prophets still.
A certain Pasha, dead these thousand years, Once from his harem fled, in sudden tears, And had this sentence on the city's gate Deeply engraven: "Only God is great!" So those four words, above the city's noise, Hung like the accents of an angel's voice. And evermore, from the high barbican, Saluted each returning caravan.
The west wind clears the morning, The sea shines silvery gray; The night was long, but fresh and strong Awakes the breezy day; Like smoke that flies across the lift, The clouds are faint and thin; And near and far along the bar, The tide comes creeping in. The dreams of midnight showed me A life of loneliness,— A stony shore, that knew no more The bright wave's soft caress; The morning broke, the vision fled— With dawn new hopes begin; The light is sweet, and at my feet The tide comes rolling in.
" The dawn swings incense, silver gray; The night is past; Now comes, triumphant, God's full day; No priest, no church can bar its way; The night is past; How, on this blue Of God's great banner, blaze and glow The words, 'Forgive them: for they know Not what they do. '"— H.
" Nature never did betray The heart that loved her; 'tis her privilege Through all the years of this our life to lead From joy to joy; for she can so inform The mind that is within us, so impress With quietness and beauty, and so feed With lofty thoughts, that neither evil tongues, Rash judgments, nor the sneers of selfish men Can e'er prevail against us, or disturb Our cheerful faith that all which we behold Is full of blessing. ".
Lift up thy saddened eyes in hope, thou child Of God. Can thought be born of that which hath No power of thought? Whence comes thy wondrous soul Unless there somewhere be a grander Soul Which touches thine through laws that never change? The universe is vast indeed! but He Who planned and made it, fills it through and through From smallest atom to the largest star, There is no point in space where chaos reigns.
Be true and list the voice within, Be true unto thy high ideal, Thy perfect self, that knows no sin— That self that is the only real. God is the only perfect one: My perfect self, one must it be With God, then,—and that thought begun, It solveth all the mystery.
"Well roars the storm for those that hear A deeper voice across the storm Proclaiming.