Page:Fugitive Poetry 1600-1878.djvu/87
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INFANT BEAUTY.
69
And Hope and Faith, as angels bright,
Be mine attendants too,
Bear me above earth's sinful might—
Present me heaven's bright view.
Be mine attendants too,
Bear me above earth's sinful might—
Present me heaven's bright view.
For Death, ere long, with subtle art,
Will claim his kindred dust;
How peaceful, then, will be my heart!
How sacred be its trust!
Will claim his kindred dust;
How peaceful, then, will be my heart!
How sacred be its trust!
Then I can feel life's troubled road
Has not been passed in vain;
And, calmly trusting in my God,
Yield back my breath again.
Has not been passed in vain;
And, calmly trusting in my God,
Yield back my breath again.
Infant Beauty.
I love to gaze upon the face,
With infant beauty beaming,
To watch the gay and artless grace,
O'er every feature streaming,
When bliss had lighted up the eye
Of childhood into ecstasy.
With infant beauty beaming,
To watch the gay and artless grace,
O'er every feature streaming,
When bliss had lighted up the eye
Of childhood into ecstasy.
Ere yet the sparkling fount of life,
'Mong earthly streams has vanished,
On the dark waves of sin and strife,
Its first fresh brightness banished,
While yet its calm and holy tide,
By innocence is sanctified.
'Mong earthly streams has vanished,
On the dark waves of sin and strife,
Its first fresh brightness banished,
While yet its calm and holy tide,
By innocence is sanctified.
Oh! who can chide a mother's love?
Is not her heartfelt pleasure
Allied to purity above,
While she beholds the treasure
That hangs in beauty at her breast,
And deems it of all gifts—the best?
Is not her heartfelt pleasure
Allied to purity above,
While she beholds the treasure
That hangs in beauty at her breast,
And deems it of all gifts—the best?
To see the ever-shifting shades
Of light and beauty dancing
Across the face, where as one fades
Another smile is glancing,
Unutterable joy imparts
Down to the depths of mothers' hearts.
Of light and beauty dancing
Across the face, where as one fades
Another smile is glancing,
Unutterable joy imparts
Down to the depths of mothers' hearts.