FAITH, HOPE, AND CHARITY.
BY S. A. H.
I saw a noble bark upon the angry main—
The foamy billows pressed upon her track;
Now high, now low, I saw her timbers strain,
As forth she bounded o'er the waters black.
But ever, as a deeper plunge she gave,
Phosphoric brightness gleamed along the wave:
And thus, I said, wide o'er Life's stormy sea,
Glances the light of Faith, so pure and free.
I marked a threatening cloud hang o'er the western sky,
And throw its blackness o'er the landscape fair,
Whence lightnings flashed, whence pealed the thunder high,
And wide re-echoed through the trembling air.
The sun broke forth, and all its dark array
Was gilded with the hues of parting day:
And thus, I said, can Hope's bright rays illume,
And richly paint the darkest days of gloom.
I saw, at twilight eve, a snowy flower—
It closed its leaves and drooped its tender bud;
Cold came the dew, and blightingly the shower
Swept o'er the plant in swift destructive flood.
But, bending o'er its tender charge its leaves,[20]
Bows the strong branch, and needed shelter gives:
And thus, I said, does Charity descend,
And proves to every drooping one a friend.
[20] The tamarind plant, which closes its leaves over its young fruit and flowers.