Poems (Angier)/Beautiful Incident
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.