Poems (Argent)/Millicent

by Alice Emily Argent

MILLICENT.

"Thou cam'st not to thy place by accident;
 It is the very place God meant for thee."

IT is not yours to wield the pen
And touch with fire the minds of men,
To colour with rich rainbow gleams
The world wherein fair fancy dreams;
To mould in form the thoughts that dwell
Deep in the soul invisible.

It is not yours to sit and paint
The pictured glory of the saint,
To wander in the halls of Art
With all an artist's yearning heart,
To charm the eye with visions bright
From dazzling fields of ideal light.

It is not yours to find a voice
Where music dwells, and doth rejoice
The many millions,—nor to bring
Melodious echoes when you sing,
And claim the memory that bounds
The senses by sweet spirit sounds.

But it is yours, my child, to be
A silent song, that sings to me
In angels' music from the sphere
Where only God perchance may hear;
For blinded eyes upon this earth
See not the wings of heavenly birth:

And, loving Millicent of mine,
Yours is the priceless gift divine,
To minister to others' needs
In holy sacrament of deeds;
To shine with pure and steadfast ray
In darkest night and dullest day;

To tend the poor, the sick and sad,
To soothe and make earth's sufferers glad,
To bless and comfort and sustain
The patient lives that know but pain.
O this is yours to do—and be
An angel in God's ministry!

To listen kindly to complaint,
Hold up the steps of those who faint.
'Neath rugged step and tortuous aisle
Of hearts that sicken for a smile:
And with a woman's soft caress
Bestow on all your tenderness.

To nurse the children pale who come
From crowded street and city home,
With poor wan cheeks and hollow eyes
And agonizing moans and cries
To lay a cooling finger tip
On feverish brow and parched lip.

To gather from the outside cold
The lambs that wander from the fold,
And with unerring instinct guide,
Once more those truants to the side
Of the Good Shepherd who doth speak
In gentlest accents to the weak.

The poet's and the artist's skill
Have their great mission to fulfil,
But yours is greater (so it seems),
Reality instead of dreams!
You have your place as it was meant
By God, and not by accident!