The Burial at Marshfield.
By R. S. Chilton.
What woe is this that hath cast o'er the land
Such a shade of sorrow? "What star hath fled
From the heavens above us? and why do men stand
Aghast, looking earthward, as if Earth were dead?
Go look in yon coffin; the answer is there,
Written plain in that white and immovable face;
And it darkens the sunlight and thickens the air,
And robs the bright world of its manifold grace.
Such a shade of sorrow? "What star hath fled
From the heavens above us? and why do men stand
Aghast, looking earthward, as if Earth were dead?
Go look in yon coffin; the answer is there,
Written plain in that white and immovable face;
And it darkens the sunlight and thickens the air,
And robs the bright world of its manifold grace.
The fire is gone out in those cavernous eyes,
Which flashed like a coal at the blast of his thought;
And those closed lips will part nevermore, though the world
For ages will ring with the lessons they taught.
Ay, well may'st thou mourn, like a Rachel, to-day,
Dear goddess of Freedom, and weep by his grave;
On thy altar he laid the first-fruits of his life;
To thee the best toil of his manhood he gave.
Which flashed like a coal at the blast of his thought;
And those closed lips will part nevermore, though the world
For ages will ring with the lessons they taught.
Ay, well may'st thou mourn, like a Rachel, to-day,
Dear goddess of Freedom, and weep by his grave;
On thy altar he laid the first-fruits of his life;
To thee the best toil of his manhood he gave.
He looks not now as when, proudly erect,
On the rock of the stern old Pilgrim race,
He summoned up the ghost of the Past,
And talked with the Future face to face!
The words that fell from his lips were like drops
Of a thunder-cloud—large, heavy, and clear;
And they purged men's minds as the genial shower
Purges the misty atmosphere.
On the rock of the stern old Pilgrim race,
He summoned up the ghost of the Past,
And talked with the Future face to face!
The words that fell from his lips were like drops
Of a thunder-cloud—large, heavy, and clear;
And they purged men's minds as the genial shower
Purges the misty atmosphere.
