Page:Poems Hale.djvu/137

Here could my weary frame repose,
 When faint with toil, or worn with care;
Here, when life's quivering breath should close,
 I hoped to breathe my parting prayer.

Here have joy's gushing tones been heard;
 Here sorrow's brooding wing been spread:
Here the deep fount of gladness stirred;
 And here grief's silent tear-drop shed.
Here to affection's treasured store,
 Were gems of priceless value given,
As stars, to shine my pathway o'er,
 And light the pilgrim's course to heaven.

Here have I stood with sorrowing eye,
 To watch life's embers die away
While faith could lift her glance on high,
 And gaze on heaven's all-perfect day.
Here have I stood beside the shrine,
 Where love lights up his holiest beam;
Where heart, and hand, and voice combine,
 To shadow forth a glorious dream.

Yet as I linger round the past,
 And sigh to break the golden chain,
My glance is on the future cast,
 And Hope breathes forth her sweeter strain.
What though my feet no longer roam
 Where love the varied scenes can trace?
What though my fondly cherished home
 Is now the stranger's resting-place?