That, when we drop the thread of life
And, dreamless, sleep beneath the sod,
They may be ready for the strife
That brings this planet nearer God.
THE SUNSET LESSON.
I watched the sun one summer eve
Sink slowly in the west,
And the quiet sea and fleecy clouds
In rosy robes were dressed.
I saw the evening glide away,
Yet still the sea and sky,
As faint the star-zoned twilight grew,
Were full of majesty.
And as, upon the breezy hill,
I turned to sky and sea,
Methought that nature spake and bade
My spirit guileless be,
That, as the deepening shades of age
Close round me, like the night,
The memory of my past might still
Life’s evening gild with light.
AS FROM THE NECTAR-LADEN LILY.
As from the nectar-laden
Lily the wild bee sips,
A British queen, sweet maiden,
Drained with her loving lips
The poison that was filling
Her husband’s veins with death,
Her love with new life thrilling
His heart with each drawn breath.