Poems (Blake)/For the Golden Jubilee of the Sisters of Charity
FOR THE GOLDEN JUBILEE OF THE SISTERS OF CHARITY.
MAY 14, 1882.
When at the city's gates Some great one enters in,Whose name is writ by the Eternal Fates Time's honored roll within;When from the battle-fields The conquering hosts return,Bearing aloft on fair, victorious shields The laurels brave men earn,—With cannon-burst and blare of echoing sound We hail their entering feet,While the glad clamor of the joyous crowd Fills all the surging street.
O daughters of the Cross, Not with such loud acclaimYour strong, sweet souls, that soothe the pain of loss, Have stormed the heights of Fame; Not with the clang of bell, Nor throbbing beat of drum,Nor lusty shouts that echoing rise and swell, Your conquering legions come;But softly, with the slow and noiseless tread, Of Him who quelleth strife,Who opes the gate of glory to the dead, And bids them enter life.
Yet from your gentle hands Life's fiercest phantoms fly:The battle-field, the plague-infested lands, Find hope and mercy nigh!Even from Sin's drear night The veil of darkness lifts,And stars of heaven, with mild, persuasive light, Shine through the broken rifts;While soft as summer winds that breathe and blow Above the winter's sod,Your message comes to frozen hearts below, And warms them back to God.
For Mercy's work no creed Confines your earnest will,— Wherever misery tells its tale of need, There bend your footsteps still;Pure as the lily's cup, Undimmed and undefiled,Your stainless hands do lift the fallen up, And soothe the orphaned child.Burning with love, and strong with heavenly grace, You seek the wanderer's side,Nor Jew nor Gentile see in any face, But Histhe Crucified!
Ye who have conquered bliss, Ye who have won the crown,What can the empty praise of worlds like this Add to your fair renown?What can our heart's desire Offer of gifts or graceTo you, who burning with the sacred fire, Shall look upon His face?For, O Beloved of the risen Lord, Though Faith may mountains move,And Hope point onward to the soul's reward, None enters in but Love!