Poems of Letitia Elizabeth Landon (L. E. L.) in The Juvenile Forget Me Not, 1832/The Evening Prayer
This poem is drawn from the review in The Literary Gazette, 8th October, 1831. It also should have an accompanying plate, "The Evening Prayer", by B. E. Duppa, engraved by John Bull.
THE EVENING PRAYER
"Alone, alone!—no other face
Wears kindred smile, or kindred line;
And yet they say my mother's eyes—
They say my father's brow is mine:
And either had rejoiced to see
The other's likeness in my face,
But now it is a stranger's eye
That finds some long-forgotten trace.
I heard them name my father's death,
His home and tomb alike the wave;
And I was early taught to weep
Beside my youthful mother's grave.
I wish I could recall one look—
But only one familiar tone:
If I had aught of memory
I should not feel so all alone.
My heart is gone beyond the grave,
In search of love I cannot find,
Till I could fancy soothing words
Are whispered by the evening wind.
I gaze upon the watching stars,
So clear, so beautiful above,
Till I could dream they look on me
With something of an answering love.
My mother, does thy gentle eye
Look from those distant stars on me!
Or does the wind at evening bear
A message to thy child from thee?
Dost thou pine for me, as I pine
Again a parent's love to share?
I often kneel beside thy grave
And pray to be a sleeper there.
The vesper bell!—'tis eventide;
I will not weep, but I will pray:
God of the fatherless, 'tis Thou
Alone canst be the orphan's stay!
Earth's meanest flower, Heaven's mightiest star,
Are equal in their Maker's love,
And I can say, Thy will be done,
With eyes that fix their hope above."