Poems (Odom)/Faith, Hope, and Love
FAITH, HOPE, AND LOVE.
INSCRIBED TO MISS NORA ELDRIDGE ON HER WEDDING-DAY.
No gems that are gleaming and glowing I bring, No glittering gold from the deep of the mine,'T is only a song of the heart I would sing; 'T is only heart-flowers I lay on your shrine.
Yet soft is their fragrance, and pure as the snow The white lily petals of Faith that unfold;And bright as the morning's first passionate glow Hope's roses, arrayed in their crimson and gold.
Still fairer and fresher and sweeter by far, Dew-beaded with gems from the heavens above,Their leaflets more precious than all others are, The blue, bending bells of the flower of Love.
All these I would bring, in their beauty and bloom, Undimmed by a breath of the world in its pride;Fresh-gathered, and fragrant with fairy perfume, Entwining the hearts of the bridegroom and bride.
You turn from a life that is precious, but past, To enter the dawn of a lovelier day,Where naught but the rosiest shadows are cast, To soften the sunlight that falls on your way.
You hold in your trembling and womanly clasp The honor of one who is loyal and leal;The hand that you lay in his passionate grasp You give to his keeping for woe or for weal.
Then turn not away when the storm shall arise, When your pearl-tinted sky with a cloud is o'ercast;But banish the gathering tears from your eyes, Stand brave in your womanhood, true to the last.
Bind the lilies of Faith to your beautiful brow; Let the roses of Hope ever bloom in your breast;Keep the blossoms of Love sweetly fragrant as now, Till the God of your fathers shall call you to rest.