-
Articles/Ads
Article THE FLOOD OF YEARS. ← Page 3 of 3
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Flood Of Years.
Frown idly , green with moss , and temples stand Unroofed , forsaken by the worshipers . There lie memorial stones whence time has gnawed The graven legends , thrones of kings o ' erturned
, The broken altars of forgotten gods , Foundations of old cities and long streets Where never fall of human foot is heard Upon the desolate pavement . I behold Dim glimmerings of lost jewels far within The sleeping waters , diamond , sardonyx ,
Ruby and topaz , pearl and chrysolite , Once glittering at the banquet on fair brows That long ago were dust ; and all around , Strewn on the waters of that silent sea , Are withering bridal wreaths , and glossy
locks Shorn from fair brows by loving hands , and scrolls O ' erwritten , —haply with fond words of love And vows of friendship—and fair pages flung Fresh from the printer ' s engine . There
they lie A moment and then they sink away from sight . I look , and the cpiick tears are in my eyes , For I behold , in every one of these , A blighted hopea separate history
, Of human sorrow , telling of clear ties Suddenly broken , dreams of happiness Dissolved in air , aud happy days too brief , That sorrowfully ended , and I think How painfully must the poor heart have beat
In bosoms without number , as the blow Was struck that slew their hope or broke their peace . Sadly I turn , and look before , where yet The Flood must pass , aud I behold a mist
Where swarm dissolving forms , the brood of Hope , Divinely fair , that rest on banks of flowers Or wander among rainbows , fading soon And re-appearing , haply giving place To shapes of grisly aspectsuch as Fear
, Molds from the idle air ; where serpents lift The head to strike , and skeletons stretch forth
The bony arm in menace . Further on A belt of darkness s eems to bar the way , Long , low and distant , where the Life that Is Touches the Life to Come . The Flood of Years Rolls toward it , near and nearer . It must
pass That dismal barrier . What is there beyond ? Hear what the wise and good have said . Beyond That belt of darkness still the years roll on More gentlybut with not less mihty
, g sweep . They gather up again and softly bear All the sweet lives that late were overwhelmed And lost to si ght—all that in them was good
, Noble , and truly great and worthy of love—The lives of infants and ingenuous youths , Sages and saintly women who have made Their households happy—all are raised and borne By that great current in its onward sweep ,
Wandering and rippling with caressing waves Around green islands , fragrant with the breath Of flowers that never wither . So they pass , From stage to stage , along the shining
course Of that fair river broadening like a sea . As its smooth eddies curl along their way , They bring old friends together ; hands are clasped In joy unspeakable ; the mother ' s arms Again are folded round the child she loved
And lost . Old sorrows are forgotten now , Or but remembered to make sweet the hour That overpays them ; wounded hearts that ¦ bled
Or broke are healed for ever . In the room Of this grief-shadowed Present there shall be A Present in whose reign no grief shall gnaw The heart , and never shall a tender tie Be broken—in whose reign the eternal
Change That waits on growth and action shall proceed With everlasting Concord hand in hand .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Flood Of Years.
Frown idly , green with moss , and temples stand Unroofed , forsaken by the worshipers . There lie memorial stones whence time has gnawed The graven legends , thrones of kings o ' erturned
, The broken altars of forgotten gods , Foundations of old cities and long streets Where never fall of human foot is heard Upon the desolate pavement . I behold Dim glimmerings of lost jewels far within The sleeping waters , diamond , sardonyx ,
Ruby and topaz , pearl and chrysolite , Once glittering at the banquet on fair brows That long ago were dust ; and all around , Strewn on the waters of that silent sea , Are withering bridal wreaths , and glossy
locks Shorn from fair brows by loving hands , and scrolls O ' erwritten , —haply with fond words of love And vows of friendship—and fair pages flung Fresh from the printer ' s engine . There
they lie A moment and then they sink away from sight . I look , and the cpiick tears are in my eyes , For I behold , in every one of these , A blighted hopea separate history
, Of human sorrow , telling of clear ties Suddenly broken , dreams of happiness Dissolved in air , aud happy days too brief , That sorrowfully ended , and I think How painfully must the poor heart have beat
In bosoms without number , as the blow Was struck that slew their hope or broke their peace . Sadly I turn , and look before , where yet The Flood must pass , aud I behold a mist
Where swarm dissolving forms , the brood of Hope , Divinely fair , that rest on banks of flowers Or wander among rainbows , fading soon And re-appearing , haply giving place To shapes of grisly aspectsuch as Fear
, Molds from the idle air ; where serpents lift The head to strike , and skeletons stretch forth
The bony arm in menace . Further on A belt of darkness s eems to bar the way , Long , low and distant , where the Life that Is Touches the Life to Come . The Flood of Years Rolls toward it , near and nearer . It must
pass That dismal barrier . What is there beyond ? Hear what the wise and good have said . Beyond That belt of darkness still the years roll on More gentlybut with not less mihty
, g sweep . They gather up again and softly bear All the sweet lives that late were overwhelmed And lost to si ght—all that in them was good
, Noble , and truly great and worthy of love—The lives of infants and ingenuous youths , Sages and saintly women who have made Their households happy—all are raised and borne By that great current in its onward sweep ,
Wandering and rippling with caressing waves Around green islands , fragrant with the breath Of flowers that never wither . So they pass , From stage to stage , along the shining
course Of that fair river broadening like a sea . As its smooth eddies curl along their way , They bring old friends together ; hands are clasped In joy unspeakable ; the mother ' s arms Again are folded round the child she loved
And lost . Old sorrows are forgotten now , Or but remembered to make sweet the hour That overpays them ; wounded hearts that ¦ bled
Or broke are healed for ever . In the room Of this grief-shadowed Present there shall be A Present in whose reign no grief shall gnaw The heart , and never shall a tender tie Be broken—in whose reign the eternal
Change That waits on growth and action shall proceed With everlasting Concord hand in hand .