Poems (Charlotte Allen)/The Heart's Devotion

by Charlotte Allen

THE HEART'S DEVOTION.

'T is not alone within the sacred dome,
 Reared by man's hands, that homage should be paid
To Him who sits on the Eternal Throne,
 That by no human genius e'er was made.

But there 's a temple 'neath the smiling skies,
 A sacred altar 'neath yon starry sphere;
And there our deepest gratitude should rise,
 Seeking an access to our Father's ear.

In the wide fields, or in the shady wood,
 In days bright sunshine, or at evening dim,
Beneath the arch of Heaven, in solitude,
 There, should we breathe our prayer and vesper hymn.

And there 's an Altar, the domestic hearth,
 'Round which to daily congregate, in prayer,
Would summon all our purest feelings forth,
 And earth would more a hallowed radiance wear.

Is there no other altar we can find,
 A constant offering on the shrine to raise,
No innate power our feelings there to bind,
 And teach our heart to sing our Maker's praise

Within our breasts we feel another fane,
 From whence the incense of our warmest love
Should isssue forth free from all earthly stain,
 To God our Father, in the realms above.