IT IS NOT ALWAYS MAY. NO HAY PÁJAROS EN LOS NIDOS ANTAÑO.-Spanish Proverb. THE sun is bright,-the air is clear, So blue yon winding river flows, It seems an outlet from the sky, Where, waiting till the west wind blows, The freighted clouds at anchor lie. All things are new ;-the buds, the leaves, That gild the elm-tree's nodding crest, And even the nest beneath the eaves ;There are no birds in last year's nest! All things rejoice in youth and love, Maiden, that read'st this simple rhyme, Enjoy the Spring of Love and Youth, I LIKE that ancient Saxon phrase, which calls The burial-ground God's-Acre! It is just; It consecrates each grave within its walls, And breathes a benison o'er the sleeping dust. God's-Acre! Yes, that blessed name imparts Comfort to those, who in the grave have sown The seed, that they had garnered in their hearts, Their bread of life, alas! no more their own. Into its furrows shall we all be cast, In the sure faith, that we shall rise again At the great harvest, when the archangel's blast Shall winnow, like a fan, the chaff and grain. Then shall the good stand in immortal bloom, With that of flowers which never bloomed on earth. With thy rude ploughshare, Death, turn up the sod, This is the place where human harvests grow! THE GOBLET OF LIFE. FILLED is Life's goblet to the brim; No purple flowers,-no garlands green, This goblet, wrought with curious art, And as it mantling passes round, With fennel is it wreathed and crowned, And give a bitter taste. THE GOBLET OF LIFE. Above the lowly plants it towers, Was gifted with the wondrous powers, It gave new strength and fearless mood; Then in Life's goblet freely press New light and strength they give! And he who has not learned to know The prayer of Ajax was for light; Let our unceasing, earnest prayer O suffering, sad humanity! Patient, though sorely tried! 279 I pledge you in this cup of grief, BLIND BARTIMEUS. BLIND Bartimeus at the gates Of Jericho in darkness waits; He hears the crowd;-he hears a breath And calls, in tones of agony, The thronging multitudes increase; Then saith the Christ, as silent stands The crowd, "What wilt thou at my hands?" Rabbi, restore the blind man's sight!" Ἡ πίστις σου σέσωκέ σε ! |