Poems (Sharpless)/The Taj Mahal
THE TAJ MAHAL[1]A CHRISTMAS THOUGHT
'Tis not of sequence that her mortal gifts Were richer than all women's, she for whomThe Taj Mahal its fairy towers lifts Till all the world stands hushed before her tomb.
Tho' weeping love, thro' lonely nights and days Wrought out each tender memory to a shrineSo wondrous fair, envy can naught but praise And time respect, a marvel so divine.
Was she then fairest, being so beloved? Nay, but her lover, noblest of his race,Who thus his mourning constancy has proved, Love being given of its own free grace.
In pondering this, I dimly come to guess Little by little, of the abounding flowOf God's great love that seeks His child to bless, And draws him to Himself from sin and woe.
Seeking our souls amid the dews of night Our Lord stands, knocking on the fast-closed door;"Let Me but enter, I will bring thee light, And life, and peace, and love, forevermore."
"What am I, Lord, that from Thine high abode, Thou unto me should stoop?" "Behold," saith He,"Thou are beloved; thou art a child of God, And of My boundless love I gather thee."
Oh! blessed day, oh! holy Christmas-tide; Shine in our hearts with ever fuller lightUntil, from all the earth on every side, Glad smiles respond, in times of pure delight,
To the grand chorus that announced the birth Of love divine, among the sons of men;"Glory to God on high, and on the earth Peace and good-will; Amen; Amen."
- ↑ The Taj Mahal is a superb mausoleum of white marble and precious stones, erected to the memory of Mumtaz Mahal, by her husband Shah Jahan, of Mogul, in a beautiful garden in the city of Agra. Mumtaz Mahal died in 1615,and was a niece of Noor Mahal, celebrated in Moore's "Lalla Rookh."