Poems (Angier)/Beautiful Incident

by Annie Lanman Angier

BEAUTIFUL INCIDENT.

The rosy light of a summer eve,
 O'er hill and valley lay,
And lingered long, as if to leave
 A blessing on the day.

The village bell had sweetly tolled
 Its chime upon the air;
To summon to their hallowed fold,
 The worshippers for prayer.

The organ's deep and solemn peals
 Fell on the listening ear;
As o'er the senses gently steals
 The feeling—God is near!

A youthful preacher rose, and took
 His theme—'twas Jesus' love;
When lo! beside the sacred Book,
 There stood a snow-white dove.

With timid gaze and folded wing,
 It paused, then soared away;
In vain we sought to track its course,
 In vain we bade it stay.

Onward and upward, still it flew,
 Till not a speck was seen;
To tell that in the vault of blue,
 Its graceful form had been.

I know not if the thought be wrong,
 But it hath seemed to me,
That some meek herald from the skies,
 That gentle bird might be:

To teach us if to innocence,
 Our days on earth are given;
We too may plume our spirit's wings,
 And take our flight for heaven.

The memory of that Sabbath eve,
 That quiet, sunset scene;
Did on my heart an impress leave,
 From which this truth I glean.

That Nature's simplest lessons tend
 To show some moral plain;
For, on the page that God bath penned,
 No line is writ in vain.