Poems (Emma M. Ballard Bell)/The Last Song of the Spheres
THE LAST SONG OF THE SPHERES.
Once, when the calm day, in its beauty departing, On lingering light-beams sent farewells to earth,Methought through the golden-barred gates of the sunset I passed to the land where my spirit had birth.
Afar in the Pleiades gleamed Alcyone; And thither my spirit directed its flight.While powers unseen all around me were hov'ring, A spirit voice whisperèd, "Follow the light!"
Then earth, sun, and planets grew dim to my vision, And, led by the beams that were shining from far,I journeyed through spaces all solemn and silent, Till welcomed at last to that radiant star.
Said one, o'er this Pleiad the guardian angel, "O dweller erewhile of a far solar sphere!Now come unto us from that realm of creation, Both seraphs and angels we welcome thee here.
"Ere long, by the solemn decree of Jehovah, The planets and sun of thy system sublime Shall wing their flight back to the regions of chaos, And chant their last song to the marches of time.
"The sounds even now of those trembling vibrations Announce the approach of some heavenly pow'r,To tell us, perchance, to the spheres of that system Already hath come the last sorrowful hour.
"My sister, behold!" When the angel had spoken, I saw that a shadow had clouded the light,And near us a being of heavenly beauty, Yet robed in a mantle sad-hued as the night.
She lifted her eyes. And then, breaking the silence That reverence holy had taught me to keep,I turned to the being who welcomed me thither, And, wondering, asked, "Do the angels e'er weep?"
"I leave," answered sadly the sorrowful angel, "A planet o'er which I was guardian long.Uranus is hurled from its place in thy system By pow'r of the Infinite mighty and strong.
"I saw when there dawned at the word of Jehovah Upon this fair planet the first beams of light,I heard when His mandate as steadfast and solemn Consigned it to regions of chaos and night.
"These tears, O my sister! are not those of longing To call back the lost from those voids dark and deep;These are but the tears of a holy remembrance, Remembrance Jehovah Himself bids us keep."
The shadows around us grew darker and deeper: Two beings approached us from o'er the dark way.While mighty and strange was the pow'r of their presence, I heard them in accents of deep sorrow say,—
"Guardian angel of this Pleiad,Of the heav'nly Alcyone,Center of the starry system,'Tis an hour of woe and wonder In the universe of God;For in yonder solar systemThere hath risen strange commotion;Two, of all, the brightest planets,Mighty ring-encircled Saturn,Jupiter with moons attended,Must forever quench their splendorIn the dark, chaotic deep."
The ether around us scarce ceased its vibrations, That thrilled with the sounds of celestials' deep woe,When came to us, veiled in a mantle of darkness, Another one, saying, in tones sad and low,—
"From the earth I bring ye tidings,Come to tell the moon is waning,Come to tell the stars are setting,Come to tell the sun no longer O'er the earth shall shed its light.Earth is all in desolation,Wrapped in shadows and in darkness,With its sister worlds expiring.Back to chaos soon they'll hasten,While the thunders chant their death-song,And the lightnings round them flashing Light them on their lonely way."
I listened in silence, until in her sorrow I heard the last angel her story relate.It oped in my soul all the fountains of sadness. I murmured, "Alas, O thou Earth! thy sad fate!"
The guardian angel who welcomed me thither Said gently, "My sister, oh, why art thou sad?While seraphs and angels are here to befriend thee, And this is thy home, let thy spirit be glad."
"I know that thou lovest me, call'st me thy sister," I said, "but that world was my dwelling before;And there too dwelt those who have known me and loved me: Oh, then let my sorrow wake wonder no more."
When thus I had murmured my sorrow, the angel To me said with tenderness holy and sweet,"If friends who were thine are the friends of the Saviour, Weep not then, my sister, again ye shall meet.'
Then quickly the shadows around us were lifted, And circled with light came a glorious one,And said she, in tones full of peace and of triumph, "The guardian angel was I of the Sun;But now at its fate my soul doth not sorrow, The will of Jehovah forever be done.
"My sad sisters, come with me. We who have witnessed The birth of these spheres in the dawning of timeMust guide them while, winging their flight back to chaos, They chant their last anthem, so sad, yet sublime."
The angels departed. And soon through the silence, And clearer and sweeter than ever before,Arose the last song of the Spheres, and we listened Till e'en its last cadence resounded no more.
Then sounds did we hear as the rushing of pinions; Before us was gathered a numberless throng, All clad in the white robes of heavenly beauty, With golden harps tuned to Redemption's sweet song.
The guardian angel, her holy eyes raising, That beamed with a new and a glorious ray,Said, "O Thou Great Father of Spirits! we praise Thee That souls perish not, though the worlds pass away!"