<<  THOUGHTS OF HEAVEN  >>

THOUGHTS of Heaven ! they come when low
The summer-eve's breeze doth faintly blow,
When the mighty sea shines clear, unstirred
By the wavering tide, or the dipping bird ;
They come in the rush of the surging storm,
When the blackening waves rear their giant form,
When o'er the dark rock curl the breakers white,
And the terrible lightnings rend the night
When the noble ship hath vainly striven
With the tempest's might, come thoughts of Heaven.

They come where man doth not intrude,
In the untracked forest's solitude ;
In the stillness of the gray rocks' height,
Whence the lonely eagle takes his flight ;
On peaks, where lie the eternal snows ;
In the sun-bright isle, 'mid its rich repose ;
In the healthy glen, by the dark, clear lake ;
Where the fair swan sails from her silent brake ;
Where Nature reigns in her deepest rest,
Pure thoughts of Heaven come unrepressed.

They come as we gaze on the midnight sky,
When the star-gemmed vault looks dark and high,
And the soul, on the wings of thought sublime,
Soars from the dim world and the bounds of Time,
Till the mental eye becomes unsealed,
And the mystery of being in light revealed.
They rise in the Gothic chapel dim,
When slowly bursts forth the holy hymn,
And the organ's rich tones swell full and high,
Till the roof peals back the melody.

Thoughts of Heaven ! from his joy beguiled,
They come to the bright-eyed, artless child ;
To the man of age in his dim decay,
Bringing hope his youth has not borne away ;
To the woe-smit soul in its dark distress,
As flowers spring up in the wilderness ;
And in silent chambers of the dead
Where the mourner goes with soundless tread ;
For, as the day-beams freely fall,
Pure thoughts of Heaven are sent to all.