Poems (Argent)/A Beautiful Old Age
A BEAUTIFUL OLD AGE.
"Serene and brightAnd lovely as a Lapland night."Wordsworth.
DEAR placid hands!Crossed gently now in calm and restful life,Hands that have known their share of toil and strife,And yet have faltered not in youth or ageTo give both help and comfort,—now, a pageIn their life's history is turned, and theyAre folded peacefully at close of day.
Sweet eyes serene!With light of heaven reflected in their beams,Crowned with an aureole of far-off dreams,Eyes that still smile and smile, and weep and weepWith others' joys and woes,—Time still doth keepTheir youthful lustre, yet a pensive hueFrom other worlds dwells in their sunny blue.
Dear silvery hair!That once was golden, nay, its beauty nowIs undisputed, snows that veil the brow With purity's soft haze, it is in truthMore touching than the rippling locks of youth,That fluttered in the sunshine and the airAnd caught the laughing sunbeams' feet so fair.
Dear heart, still young!As true hearts are, Time cannot touch the springTh' eternal verdure that with thee doth cling,Around each human object that hath needOf pitying kindness in word or deed.Dear loving heart in Life's sweet eventideBut brighter for the fires that purified.
Some few more yearsWe pray be thine, for those who love thee so,Who hold thee dearest of the dear below,And then the rapture of a fairer shore,The meeting of thy loved ones gone before.Here, beautiful thine age serene and bright,There, lovelier than the poet's Lapland night!
Lord! grant that IMay be like her, a virgin lily crowned,With peace and hope encircling all around,With oil of joy and garments of pure grace,A fair faint shadow of the Master's face.Thy lily, Lord, one day with tender loveTo be transplanted to the realms above!