CONFESSION
Within the portals of thy shrine
Before thy presence, dearest mine,
I kneel, beseeching thee to bless
My penitence, while I confess,
And can a saint do any less?
If I have sinned as others do,
All human hearts the wide world through
Are erring things, and then with me
My greatest wrong was loving thee,
Wilt thou condemn my constancy?
Look down, dear heart, and let thine eyes
Commend my soul to Paradise.
He little sins, who sins in this
That to obtain eternal bliss
Seeks the communion of a kiss.
SUNLIGHT ON DISTANT HILLS
(Ledbury)
But a moment since and the sun was shining
Over the hills that I see from my room.
And now the rain and the mist come driving
Out of the West, in a cloud of gloom.
Over the woods, and meadows, and gardens,
Hurries the storm like the hand of Doom.
But a moment hence and the clouds shall vanish;
Breaking and drifting and all asunder.
And lo! in their midst will the sky be lying
Calm and blue with a peaceful wonder
Nothing may alter, though sorrow and tempest
Torture the Earth, as she trembles under.