Poems | Page 6

fell upon the pillow,?He was free among the dead.
"A LITTLE CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM."
Only a little scrap of blue
Preserved with loving care,?But earth has not a brilliant hue
To me more bright and fair.
Strong drink, like a raging demon,
Laid on my heart his hand,?When my darling joined with others
The Loyal Legion * band.
But mystic angels called away
My loved and precious child,?And o'er life's dark and stormy way
Swept waves of anguish wild.
? The Temperance Band,
20 "A LITTLE CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM."
This badge of the Loyal Legion
We placed upon her breast,?As she lay in her little coffin
Taking her last sweet rest.
To wear that badge as a token
She earnestly did crave,?So we laid it on her bosom
To wear it in the grave.
Where sorrow would never reach her
Nor harsh words smite her ear;?Nor her eyes in death dimmed slumber
Would ever shed a tear.
"What means this badge?" said her father,
Whom we had tried to save;?Who said, when we told her story,
"Don't put it in the grave."
We took the badge from her bosom
And laid it on a chair;?And men by drink deluded
Knelt by that badge in prayer.
And vowed in that hour of sorrow
From drink they would abstain;
THE SPARROW'S FALL. 21
And this little badge became the wedge
Which broke their galling chain.
And lifted the gloomy shadows
That overspread my life,?And flooding my home with gladness,
Made me a happy wife.
And this is why this scrap of blue
Is precious in my sight;?It changed my sad and gloomy home
From darkness into light.
THE SPARROW'S FALL.
Too frail to soar--a feeble thing--?It fell to earth with fluttering wing;?But God, who watches over all,?Beheld that little sparrow's fall.
'Twas not a bird with plumage gay,?Filling the air with its morning lay;?'Twas not an eagle bold and strong,?Borne on the tempest's wing along.
22 THE SPARROW'S FALL.
Only a brown and weesome thing,?With drooping head and listless wing;?It could not drift beyond His sight?Who marshals the splendid stars of night.
Its dying chirp fell on His ears,?Who tunes the music of the spheres,?Who hears the hungry lion's call,?And spreads a table for us all.
Its mission of song at last is done,?No more will it greet the rising sun;?That tiny bird has found a rest?More calm than its mother's downy breast
Oh, restless heart, learn thou to trust?In God, so tender, strong and just;?In whose love and mercy everywhere?His humblest children have a share.
If in love He numbers ev'ry hair,?Whether the strands be dark or fair,?Shall we not learn to calmly rest,?Like children, on our Father's breast?
GOD BLESS OUR NATIVE LAND. 23
GOD BLESS OUR NATIVE LAND.
God bless our native land,
Land of the newly free,?Oh may she ever stand
For truth and liberty.
God bless our native land,
Where sleep our kindred dead,?Let peace at thy command
Above their graves be shed.
God help our native land,
Bring surcease to her strife,?And shower from thy hand
A more abundant life.
God bless our native land,
Her homes and children bless,?Oh may she ever stand
For truth and righteousness.
24 DANDELIONS.
DANDELIONS.
Welcome children of the Spring,
In your garbs of green and gold,?Lifting up your sun-crowned heads
On the verdant plain and wold.
As a bright and joyous troop
From the breast of earth ye came?Fair and lovely are your cheeks,
With sun-kisses all aflame.
In the dusty streets and lanes,
Where the lowly children play,?There as gentle friends ye smile,
Making brighter life's highway
Dewdrops and the morning sun,
Weave your garments fair and bright,?And we welcome you to-day
As the children of the light.
Children of the earth and sun.
We are slow to understand?All the richness of the gifts
Flowing from our Father's hand.
THE BUILDING. 25
Were our vision clearer far,
In this sin-dimmed world of ours,?Would we not more thankful be
For the love that sends us flowers?
Welcome, early visitants,
With your sun-crowned golden hair,?With your message to our hearts
Of our Father's loving care.
THE BUILDING.
"Build me a house," said the Master,
"But not on the shifting sand,?Mid the wreck and roar of tempests,
A house that will firmly stand.
"I will bring thee windows of agates,
And gates of carbuncles bright,?And thy fairest courts and portals
Shall be filled with love and light.
"Thou shalt build with fadeless rubies,
All fashioned around the throne,?A house that shall last forever,
With Christ as the cornerstone.
26 HOME, SWEET HOME.
"It shall be a royal mansion,
A fair and beautiful thing,?It will be the presence-chamber
Of thy Saviour, Lord and King.
"Thy house shall he bound with pinions
To mansions of rest above,?But grace shall forge all the fetters
With the links and cords of love.
"Thou shalt he free in this mansion
From sorrow and pain of heart,?For the peace of God shall enter,
And never again depart."
HOME, SWEET HOME.
Sharers of a common country,
They had met in deadly strife;?Men who should have been as brothers
Madly sought each other's life.
In the silence of the even,
When the cannon's lips were dumb,
HOME, SWEET HOME. 27
Thoughts of home and all its loved ones
To the soldier's heart would come.
On the margin of a river,
'Mid the evening's dews and damps,?Could be heard the sounds of music
Rising from two hostile camps.
One was singing of its section
Down in Dixie, Dixie's