Poetical Remains of the Late Mrs Hemans/Images of Patriarchal Life

by Felicia Hemans

For other versions of this work, see Records of Passing Thought. XV. Images of Patriarchal Life.

XV.

IMAGES OP PATRIARCHAL LIFE.

Calm scenes of patriarch life!—how long a power
Your unworn pastoral images retain,
O'er the true heart, which in its childhood's hour
Drank their pure freshness deep! The camels' train,
Winding in patience o'er the desert plain,—
The tent—the palm-tree—the reposing flock—
The gleaming fount—the shadow of the rock—
Oh! by how subtle, yet how strong a chain,
And in the influence of its touch how blessed,
Are these things linked, in many a thoughtful breast,
To household memories, for all change endeared!
—The matin bird—the ripple of a stream
Beside our native porch—the hearth light's gleam—
The voices, earliest by the soul revered!