Lines on a Picture by Mary Gow[ToC]
O whirling World! I know a corner still
Unsoiled by Hate and Strife:
Where hushed and gentle is the voice of Life:
Where Time—a summer rill
Soft-flowing through the grass—in measure slow
Sings sweetly as we go.
Here is a room wherein the white day gleams:
Silence o'er Peace has spread her pearly wings:
A smiling woman reads of simple things:
A child's blue eyes are blinded by their dreams....
To Serenity[ToC]
Before a Madonna—by Botticelli.
Thine is the face our driven souls shall wear,
O sweet serenity!—No earthly wind
Can rend thine azure mantle now, nor tear
Those veils that shield the radiant locks they bind.
Thy brow is calm with storm appeased; thy lids
Are heavy with the wisdom of all tears:
Thy mouth is strong with silence that forbids
Weary lament and craven wail of fears.
Within thy guarded bosom now no fire
Is ardent; thou hast hidden all thy scars:
We too may tread the ashes of desire,
And wing our spirits thus to touch the stars.