EVENING THOUGHTS.
BY H. MERRAN PARKE.
TWILIGHT deepens upon the lea,
And shadows come dancing in play with me;
Little brown birds have hurried away
To their nests in the tree-tops old and gray,
While here at my window I lean and gaze
Earnestly into the misty haze,
Watching the coming of one sweet star
Which thou'rt now seeking from me afar.
Absent and dearest, my spirit's life
Dost ever forget, 'mid the din and strife,
That one fond heart o'er the line of hills
Sighs for thy presence, yet bounds and fills
With measureless bliss when this sweet hour
Gathers around with its magic power.
Visions of brightness come and go
Like the falling and melting of winter snow;
But one, a presence like thine remains,
And winds my heart in its golden chains.
Then, sweet as the music in Assam's bowers,
When winds go singing among the flowers,
Or like the leaves of the lotus-tree
That touch each other in melody,
So sweetly a voice creeps into my soul
To woo my senses from earth's control,
And point to a world of rarer joy
Where pleasures are found that never cloy,
Where bliss supernal forever reigns,
And rapture gushes in seraph strains.
Oh, earth is darkly beautiful now,
With her garland of flowers upon her brow;
And the stars have come with their golden eyes
To light up the portals of Paradise;
The visions of sweetness have left my heart,
But the voice of music will never depart;
And when I look to the shining skies,
Where the bright pavilions of glory rise,
I'll think of the gardens of matchless flowers,
Where angels walk 'mid the wingless hours;
And, dearest, I'll think we'll sometimes go
The peace and rapture of heaven to know.
But, hark! the sound of ringing bells
Comes on the wind, and softly tells
Midnight—and earth doth sweetly rest,
With her beautiful children on her breast.