Page:Fugitive Poetry 1600-1878.djvu/96

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78

GUARDIAN ANGELS.

Gird thy heavenly armour on,
Wear it ever, night and day;
Near thee lurks the evil one,
Therefore watch and pray.

Listen to thy sorrowing Lord,
Him thou lovest to obey;
It is He who speaks the word,
Therefore watch and pray.

'Twas by watching and by prayer
Holy men, of olden day,
Won the palms and crowns they wear;
Therefore watch and pray.

Watch, for thou thy guard must keep;
Pray, for God must speed thy way:
Narrow is the road and steep,
Therefore watch and pray.

Guardian Angels.

Gently, gently fall sweet sleep
O'er thine eyelids, soft and deep,
Gently as the breath of flowers
In the bright noon's honeyed hours.
Gently as the dews of heaven
On the wild-rose at the even.

Thou art pure, immortal one;
Oh! be pure till life is done.
We would take thee in thy bloom
From the dim walls of the tomb;
We would bear thee, blest and fair,
Where thy home and kindred are.

Pray, then—strive to enter in
Through the cold world's woe and sin;
In each glad and gloomy hour,
In thy weakness, in thy power.
Pray—and we will pray for thee,
Strive—and we will strengthen thee.

Ay, on the land and on the seas,
In the tempest and the breeze,
In the solemn hush of night,
In the loud moon's burst of light,
Strive! oh strive!—around, above thee,
We will lead and we will love thee.