Part 2
Havana’s waters, blue and broad, Reflect the righteousness of God; And Santiago’s wreck-strewn shore Resounds His praise for evermore. The islands of the sea rejoice; The floods lift up their mighty voice; From shore to shore the anthems rise,— A nation’s grateful sacrifice.
Long as the stars shall shine o’erhead, In deathless fame shall live the dead; Their country’s glory and renown Their fadeless, everlasting crown. The morning breaks! the shadows flee! Christ’s kingdom comes on land and sea:— The rule of love, the reign of good,— The whole round world one brotherhood!
THE GREATER REPUBLIC.
Our destiny was cast in an imperial mold,— Our mission drawn on an immenser plan Than marked, in deathless lines, our sires’ high faith of old,— Earth’s broadest-visioned prophecy of man.
From ancient feuds removed, and favoring seas between, In isolation enviable, supreme, We dwelt apart content,—self-center’d and serene,— The Old World’s wonder and the Ages’ dream.
When suddenly a cry from out the surging deep We fondly deemed the guardian of our peace:— A wail of anguish sore from breaking hearts that weep Sweet Freedom’s doom and savage Wrong’s release.
Deep calling unto deep! the Island’s bitter cry Awakes the Continent to sleep no more:— Heart ever answers heart:—America’s reply Is Santiago’s world-resounding shore.
Nor here, alone, the Hand mysterious and divine;— Manila’s equal miracle foreshowed The Providential path, with yet unsealèd sign, Where first our arms to scathless triumph rode.
True to the unsought task we could not comprehend,— By foes maligned, by friends misunderstood, This faith sustained us still, to the appointed end:— Heaven serves the Sword unsheath’d for human good.
Clear, now, the purpose of the Highest,—plain His plan:— To mould the Nation after His own mind, And give, in common emprise with the Son of Man, The moral leadership of all mankind.
EMERSON.
Bard of the soaring soul, Of thought sublime, serene,— Lord of the Pleiades And all the stars between!
And further still thy sway:— Thy realm, that vaster deep Where galaxies unseen Their radiant courses keep.
With measure masterful Thou raisest our desire, Till to thy boldest flight Our eager souls aspire.
But not alone thy thought In star-sprent spaces strown; Thy largess manifold Hath nearer harvests sown.
Ah! yes;—a richer crop We gather, in thy song, Than ever homeward brought The Wain with “oxen strong.”
The Snow Storm, and Wood Notes, Forerunners, and May-Days, To the dear earth belong, And grace our lowliest ways.
Concord, and Boston “Hymn,”— They stir our pulses still, And hold, for Freedom’s need, The patriot heart and will.
The Problem,—Each and All, Thy kind theology! And like the Lord Christ’s heart, Thy sweet Apology.
The Dirge,—the Threnody, Our tenderest tears unseal;— We know their loneliness, And all their sorrow feel.
To Virtue’s holiest heights Leads, still, thy dauntless strain, And on our follies falls “Its beautiful disdain.”
Between Rhodora’s bloom And Merlin’s mighty rhyme, Our largest thoughts find room, O World-Soul seer sublime!
But little need hast thou Of tribute we may bring;— Thy fame hath Eastertide With each returning Spring.
The centuries shall guard The glory of thy verse, And worthier song than ours Its golden notes rehearse.
Thou buildest thy renown With ageless masonry:— Monadnock’s granite walls Thy monument shall be!
DANIEL WEBSTER.
The grandeur of the mountains Is in his deep tones heard;— Atlantic’s mighty fountains Inundate every word.
Torrential thought and feeling In tides of passion pour,— To patriot hearts appealing, As sea to storm-swept shore.
Columbia’s star-crown’d daughters Own his majestic will;— Like voice of many waters, His name is potent still.
In loftiest communion With seer and sage of yore, For Liberty and Union He pleads for evermore!
LINCOLN.
Like monarch of the forest He looms out of the Past:— Our strength when need was sorest,— Our pride while Time shall last.
To God, the gracious Giver, All praise and glory be, While flows each free-born river Unfettered to the sea.
AGASSIZ—EMERSON.
Far different the task assigned, Yet were they one in loftiest aim; True mirror, each, of the Eternal Mind, They share a common fadeless fame.
One Will they owned, with rapturous awe, One sway supreme from man to Mars,— Chanting the chorus of the moral law With Seraphim and Morning Stars!
WELCOME!
With love no words may measure, Deep as life’s hidden wells,— With sweetest, purest pleasure, Chautauqua’s bosom swells.
A memory true and tender, At which the warm tears start,— Her Founder and Defender— His home is in her heart!
O gratefully she meets him, Restored to her once more; And rapturously greets him, With welcomes o’er and o’er.
Her joy untold confessing, (Now be God’s goodness prais’d!) As for a father’s blessing, Her eyes to his are raised.
Full well she knows attend her His prayers on sea and shore— His spotless fame her splendor, Her pride for evermore!
St. Vincent, we would name him, Ere yet his crown is won,— Before the skies shall claim him For Christ’s dear word, “Well done!” Chautauqua, 1902.
FAME.
In empty rumor sown to woful ruth, How many reputations pass like chaff, Before Time’s judgment winnowing for Truth Immortal morrow and eternal youth. Recalled for mirth,—remembered with a laugh! Poor fames! that flower and wither with the grass,— Once fondly deemed more durable than brass. Heed well the clarion sounding through the sky, Impartial herald of the Voice of God! Proclaiming to the ages wide abroad The mighty names that were not born to die. Hark! ’tis the centuries’ roll-call, calm and clear,— From thrones of fadeless glory answered, “Here!” By souls supreme whose record is on high.
DEFEATED?
I raise a pillar, fine and fair,— The monument of my despair; No fame of conqueror or king E’er won a nobler offering:— Behold, where strength and beauty meet To celebrate a life’s defeat!
From hearts of stone to heart of stone, The soul appeals, as to her own;— The stainless granite, stately, strong, Shall chant my failure’s deathless song; Severe as Truth, this shaft shall shame The poor world’s pitiable blame.
FIDELITY.
The sunbeam in the hovel, And in the Hall, are one,— Each in his station faithful, Until his task is done.
In soul and service, brothers, To one blest birth-right born, Nor chance nor change can sever The children of the Morn.
Co-workers in one purpose, Co-partners of one plan, Each bears on stainless pinions, The love of Heaven to man.
If true to God, what matters, Where’er our work is done? The sunbeam in the hovel, And in the Hall, are one.
TRANSFIGURED!
(“The Word was made flesh.”)
Garment of Flesh, to thee was given The virgin glow of sun and sod:— Dawn-woven in the loom of Heaven,— The last, the tenderest touch of God!
With human passion dear, divine, Thou dost the deathless soul supply; Altar and hearth alike are thine, Sweet bridal of the earth and sky!
The glory of Eternity Rests like a crown upon thy brow; Celestial light o’ershadows thee:— Blest mother of my Lord art thou!
BETRAYED.
Deceived, deflowered, despoiled! O drooping lily, late with light aglow! Around thy root is coiled The hidden horror of a nameless woe.
Deceived, defiled, despoiled! Is there no healing for a broken heart? O God! hadst Thou but foiled The fatal spell of the betrayer’s art.
Deceived, despised, despoiled! The blight has fallen on thy peerless bloom; To bless thy bridal eager ages toiled;— A moment’s glamour leaves thee endless gloom.
SUNSET.
Crimson and cloth-of-gold, His cloud-couch, rarely wrought;— To bower so beautiful No bride was ever brought.
Save his,—of tender grace,— Dear Twilight, faithful, fair, On whose sweet lips he seeks Surcease of toil and care.
O light ineffable! Wonder of wood and wold;— The vision and the pledge Of rapture manifold.
FULFILLMENT.
Lips to lips in rapture pressed,— Dearest secret of the breast In a moment all confessed;— Love is best; love is best!
Worn with care, by pain oppressed,— Empty arms and aching breast,— Longing for release and rest;— Death is best; death is best!
Home at last! O welcome blest! Heart to heart our loved ones pressed,— Of eternal life possessed;— Heaven is best! heaven is best!
CONTENTMENT.
Content with life’s allotted hours, Or brook or river,—may mine be Forever cheered by its unfailing Source,— A happy stream unhasting to the Sea,— With little children, birds and flowers, The dear companions of its tranquil course.
COMPANIONSHIP.
Lured by no lower goal between, From light to light still upward move, Aspiring to the heights serene Of magnanimity and love.
Thou shalt not take thy way alone;— The Beautiful, the True, the Good, Shall draw to thee, undream’d, unknown, Heaven’s fairest First-Born Brotherhood!
And with them, steadfast to the end, The sons of God of like degree, Earth’s noblest souls shall thee attend With kingliest, kindliest company.
ASPIRATION AND ATTAINMENT.
Two natures, ours,—two lives Attest our heavenly birth;— In “the third heaven,” one,— The other, on the earth.
One soars to realms above, Where saints and angels dwell; The other strives alone With all the powers of hell.
The soul’s clear vision, one, And ecstacy untold; The other, darkness, doubt, And sorrow manifold.
The one is triumph, rest; The other, struggle, pain:— A fearful fight, wherein Both prayers and tears seem vain.
And yet they are but one, Though worlds between them roll; One, also, their reward In God, their glorious goal.
For duty, in the dust, Is equally divine With victor wreath and crown Which in His presence shine.
A QUESTION OR TWO.
If, as you say, like dogs we die, Why, then, like angels live? Let faithless Reason make reply, And honest answer give.
What power shall check the downward trend Of wilful hearts of men, If in eternal nothing end Their three score years and ten?
That Virtue is its own reward— Think you sufficient cause To move men to the due regard Of Heaven’s holiest laws?
While blood is blood, and gold is gold, Alas, you vainly try, With fine-spun calculations cold, To lure us to the sky.
Be naught beyond to hold in awe The beast in every breast, Then tooth and claw shall be our law;— Why need to paint the rest?
Grant us for our protection here, This boon, Philosophy, If not the hope, the wholesome fear, Of immortality.
And, meanwhile, in our memory keep That earnest word of old:— Whate’er thou sowest thou shalt reap, In measure manifold.
OTHER SHEEP.
Pagan, Papist, Protestant! What is that to thee or me? Make not Heaven’s mercy scant With thy pampered bigotry.
Who made thee the judge to be Of thy brother’s destiny? Deem not that thy shibboleth Holds the keys of life and death.
Ah, that secret, sullen sign! Call it not decree divine; For a letter, more, or less, Measures not God’s tenderness.
“Other sheep I have,” said One Who was more than Mary’s son;— Eyes as blind as thine shall see His amazing charity.
When it claims the judgment-throne, What is creed but craft and cant? God will surely know His own:— Pagan, Papist, Protestant.
BY MANY PATHS.
By many names the one true God is known; By many shrines man’s faith in Him is shown;— Varuna, Vishnu, Agni, Indra,—One! As stars confess the all-sustaining sun. By many paths true, humble hearts are brought At last to Him whom they in darkness sought.
All lands alike the Father’s mercies share; No age was ever orphaned of His care;— For souls sincere, forever has sufficed The boundless merit of the blessed Christ; And over all forever shall extend The love that knows no measure and no end.
[A]POOR LITTLE JOE!
“Poor little Joe!” the poet said, When it was told him she was dead;— “Poor little Joe!” the warm tears start From the deep fountains of his heart;— “Poor little Joe!” he loved her so.
“Poor little Joe!” he knows too well What darkness on his darling fell, When, in her loneliness and pain, “Papa!” she called,—but called in vain;— “Poor little Joe!” she missed him so.
“Poor little Joe!” she loved him so, And wished to stay, yet longed to go;— One fond caress, one sweet “Good-night,” Had made the way to heaven so bright! “Poor little Joe!” she loved him so.
“Poor little Joe!” was all he said, When it was told him she was dead; But everywhere the warm tears start Responsive to his breaking heart;— “Poor little Joe!” we loved her so.
Footnote A:
Josephine Kipling—eldest child of Rudyard Kipling.
DARK, AND DAYS.
The same old problems vex mankind; In meager beams the light is given; Nor may the race e’er hope to find The rest for which each age has striven.
The same old problems vex mankind; But to our fears this faith is given:— Broods over all the Eternal Mind, And night on earth is day in heaven.
EXPERIENCE.
Slowly is life revealed, and slowlier still The mystic scroll of the Eternal Will; But, calming our impatience, Hope replies,— “The days are ignorant,—the years are wise.”
A SURE FOUNDATION.
Hold firmly, for thy soul’s behoof, This holy faith, divinely broad:— The good in us is blessed proof Of goodness infinite in God!
THE VOYAGE.
Embarked upon an unknown sea, And borne by tide which ne’er returns,— Awed by the deepening mystery, The stoutest heart for comfort yearns.
Fear not;—we are not left alone; To wiser hands the helm is given;— A guidance better than our own Directs our way from earth to heaven.
THE STONECROFT.
Dauntless in drouth and dearth, Its pure, bright bloom is given Not by the damps of earth, But by the dews of heaven.
O soul shut in with pain,— By want and woe oppressed, Look up,—take heart again; In God’s sure keeping rest.
The bounty of thy birth Remains, whate’er be given; Denied the damps of earth, Thine, still, the dews of heaven!
PROGRESS.
Onward and upward moves the world,— As toward the sun the seasons roll;— Aspiring, striving, struggling, still,— Onward and upward toward the goal.
Onward and upward moves the world! The night is spent; and, clear and broad, The dawn predicts the perfect day:— Onward and upward still toward God!
A BENEDICTION.
The Christ of Cana brighten The bliss thy heart may share;— The Christ of Calvary lighten The cross thy soul must bear.
LOVE AND TRUTH.
Like shy arbutus’ bloom, Half hidden, half revealed, Her heart for love makes sweetest room,— Disclosed, and yet concealed.
Ah! it was ever so,— Disclosed, and yet concealed: As to her eyes her breasts of snow, Half hidden, half revealed!
And darkly truth is known,— Half hidden, half revealed; And dimly, still, Christ’s dear face shown,— Disclosed, and yet concealed.
Will it be ever so,— Disclosed, and yet concealed? All that we most desire to know, Half hidden, half revealed?
BEAUTY.
What is it, but the point where meet The finite and the infinite? The light on childhood’s brow that hovers,— The all-revealing glance of lovers; The troth of flowers and stars on high,— The bridal of the earth and sky; The sheen of heaven on soul and sod,— The glory and the grace of God;— The gleam of Sun beyond the sun,— The mortal and immortal, one!
HEART OF LOVE.
Out of the heart of Love all beauty blows, Of star-sprent sky or flower-sweet sod;— One Source all being owns, one sure repose,— The bosom of the life of God!
THE CORONATION.
’Tis not enough to hold the faith To saints and sages given; Truth asks of thee a fealty Like her fair throne in heaven.
Transmute it into character,— Translate it into life; And crown thy creed with golden deed And love that conquers strife.
DISCIPLESHIP.
Be thine thy Master’s portion, Who found, where all seemed loss, His Kinghood in His serving, His kingdom in His cross.
THE GREATER DEEP.
O vast and variable Sea! Image alike of peace and strife,— Like that immenser mystery Which shrouds our little life.
FAITH.
Dim mirrors are our mortal minds, In which all truth is darkly seen; Our only wisdom is to love, And leave to God what death may mean.
THE GIFT.
Unhasting, yet advancing evermore, The morning breaks, at last, on every shore; And through the gloom, until the day-star beam, To us Heaven grants the vision and the dream.
SONSHIP.
Adapted to infinity, Our souls, O God, aspire to Thee;— Created in Thy likeness blest, In Thee alone our hearts find rest.
REALITY.
Truth is the soul’s eternal quest,— Reality its only rest;— Shadow for substance ne’er sufficed,— Symbol nor sacrament,—but Christ!
INFINITY.
To confines infinitely lonely, Extends, unknown, Creation’s shoreless sea:— The sun itself a porch-light, only, To the fair palace of Eternity.
UNANSWERED.
Whither away, ye argosies of Heaven, In solemn state advancing from afar? What mission marshals you? What chivalrous emprise Darkens the glory of the sapphire skies? Say, was your empire’s ancient quiet riven With rumor ominous of distant wrong and war? Or speed ye forth with snowy sails unfurled, And radiant pennons shimmering in the haze, To bring with proper pomp, to his empyreal throne, Your monarch with his bride? he loveth her alone, Dear daughter of the Sun, the peerless virgin world, Long cloistered in his bosom’s brightest rays. * * * * * * * No answer but a deeper shadow cast,— And lo! the splendid mystery is passed.
SELF-SENTENCED.
Though born a man, he lives a mole; In vain for him the seasons roll; Poor earth-worm; in a world of light, Still deeper digging into night.
Indifferent to life and law, He knoweth neither love nor awe;— Askance he eyes the daisied sod, And turns a Ghetto face on God.