poems.
5
So sacred was the hour I scarce dared breathe,
Fearing to disturb what looked devotion
On the page of nature.
I had wandered far,
And sought the village church-yard to indulge
In sober thought, amid the moss-grown carved
Memorials of departed loved ones.
The church that stood upon that quiet spot,
For many years had graced that rustic hamlet;
While Time's unsparing hand had rudely touched
This venerable monument of days
Long past, whose fallen state, proclaimed in
Language mute but eloquent, that a
Separation must, ere long, ensue.
Beside that Church's porch,
A little box was placed, strongly appealing
To the hearts of all who passed that way,—
For Charity; which none could help perceive,
Save those who wilfully were blind; and it
Was deemed a stain upon the hearts of those
Who passed it by unnoticed.
I had marked
A bright-eyed boy, who though alone, had pleased
Himself in gathering wild flowers, that bloomed in
Rich luxuriance o'er that hallowed place;
Fearing to disturb what looked devotion
On the page of nature.
I had wandered far,
And sought the village church-yard to indulge
In sober thought, amid the moss-grown carved
Memorials of departed loved ones.
The church that stood upon that quiet spot,
For many years had graced that rustic hamlet;
While Time's unsparing hand had rudely touched
This venerable monument of days
Long past, whose fallen state, proclaimed in
Language mute but eloquent, that a
Separation must, ere long, ensue.
Beside that Church's porch,
A little box was placed, strongly appealing
To the hearts of all who passed that way,—
For Charity; which none could help perceive,
Save those who wilfully were blind; and it
Was deemed a stain upon the hearts of those
Who passed it by unnoticed.
I had marked
A bright-eyed boy, who though alone, had pleased
Himself in gathering wild flowers, that bloomed in
Rich luxuriance o'er that hallowed place;
