Into its furrows shall we all be cast, In the sure faith, that we shall rise again At the great harvest, when the arch-angel's blast Shall winnow, like a fan, the chaff and grain. Then shall the good stand in immortal bloom, In the fair gardens of that second birth; And each bright blossom, mingle its perfume With that of flowers, which never bloomed on earth. With thy rude ploughshare, Death, turn up the sod, And spread the furrow for the seed we sʊw; This is the field and Acre of our God. This is the place, where has harvests grow! RIVER! that in silence windest Through the meadows, bright and free, Till at length thy rest thou findest Four long years of mingled feeling, Thou hast taught me, Silent Rive Oft in sadness and in illness, I have watched thy current glide, And in better hours and brighter, Not for this alone I love thee, Nor because, thy waves of blue Take their own celestial hue. Where yon shadowy woodlands hide thee, And have made thy margin dear. More than this;-thy name reminds me Friends my soul with joy remembers! On the hearth-stone of my heart! 'T is for this, thou Silent River! 255 BLIND Bartimeus at the gates Of Jericho in darkness waits; He hears the crowd:-he hears a breath Say, "It is Christ of Nazareth!" And calls, in tones of agony, Ἰησοῦ, ἐλέησόν με! The thronging multitudes increase; |