Rampolli | Page 6

break.
The Past, where to the glow of youth
God yet himself declared;

And early death, in loving truth
The young beheld, and dared--

Anguish and torture patient bore
To prove they loved him as of yore.
With anxious yearning now we see
That Past in darkness drenched;

With this world's water never we
Shall find our hot thirst quenched:

To our old home we have to go
That blessed time again to know.
What yet doth hinder our return?
Long since repose our precious!

Their grave is of our life the bourn;
We shrink from times ungracious!

By not a hope are we decoyed:
The heart is full; the world is void!
Infinite and mysterious,
Thrills through me a sweet trembling,
As if
from far there echoed thus
A sigh, our grief resembling:
The dear
ones long as well as I,
And send to me their waiting sigh.
Down to the sweet bride, and away
To the beloved Jesus!
Courage!
the evening shades grow gray,
Of all our griefs to ease us!
A dream

will dash our chains apart,
And lay us on the Father's heart.
SPIRITUAL SONGS.
I.
Without thee, what were life or being!
Without thee, what had I not
grown!
From fear and anguish vainly fleeing,
I in the world had
stood alone;
For all I loved could trust no shelter;
The future a dim
gulf had lain;
And when my heart in tears did welter,
To whom had
I poured out my pain?
Consumed in love and longing lonely
Each day had worn the night's
dull face
With hot tears I had followed only
Afar life's wildly
rushing race.
No rest for me, tumultuous driven!
A hopeless sorrow
by the hearth!--
Who, that had not a friend in heaven,
Could to the
end hold out on earth?
But if his heart once Jesus bareth,
And I of him right sure can be,

How soon a living glory scareth
The bottomless obscurity!

Manhood in him first man attaineth;
His fate in Him transfigured
glows;
On freezing Iceland India gaineth,
And round the loved one
blooms and blows.
Life grows a twilight softly stealing;
The world speaks all of love and
glee;
For every wound grows herb of healing,
And every heart beats
full and free.
I, his ten thousand gifts receiving,
Humble like him,
his knees embrace;
Sure that we share his presence living
When
two are gathered in one place.
Forth, forth to all highways and hedges!
Compel the wanderers to
come in;
Stretch out the hand that good will pledges,
And gladly
call them to their kin.
See heaven high over earth up-dawning!
In
faith we see it rise and spread:
To all with us one spirit owning--
To
them with us 'tis opened.

An ancient, heavy guilt-illusion
Haunted our hearts, a changeless
doom;
Blindly we strayed in night's confusion;
Gladness and grief
alike consume.
Whate'er we did, some law was broken!
Mankind
appeared God's enemy;
And if we thought the heavens had spoken,

They spoke but death and misery.
The heart, of life the fountain swelling--
An evil creature lay therein;

If more light shone into our dwelling,
More unrest only did we win.

Down to the earth an iron fetter
Fast held us, trembling captive
crew;
Fear of Law's sword, grim Death the whetter,
Did swallow up
hope's residue.
Then came a saviour to deliver--
A Son of Man, in love and might!

A holy fire, of life all-giver,
He in our hearts has fanned alight.

Then first heaven opened--and, no fable,
Our own old fatherland we
trod!
To hope and trust we straight were able,
And knew ourselves
akin to God.
Then vanished Sin's old spectre dismal;
Our every step grew glad and
brave.
Best natal gift, in rite baptismal,
Their own faith men their
children gave.
Holy in him, Life since hath floated,
A happy dream,
through every heart;
We, to his love and joy devoted,
Scarce know
the moment we depart.
Still standeth, in his wondrous glory,
The holy loved one with his
own;
His crown of thorns, his faithful story
Still move our hearts,
still make us groan.
Whoso from deadly sleep will waken,
And
grasp his hand of sacrifice,
Into his heart with us is taken,
To ripen
a fruit of Paradise.
II.
Dawn, far eastward, on the mountain!
Gray old times are growing
young:
From the flashing colour-fountain
I will quaff it deep and
long!--

Granted boon to Longing's long privation!
Sweet love in

divine transfiguration!
Comes at last, our old Earth's native,
All-Heaven's one child, simple,
kind!
Blows again, in song creative,
Round the earth a living wind;

Blows to clear new flames that rush together
Sparks extinguished
long by earthly weather.
Everywhere, from graves upspringing,
Rises new-born life, new
blood!
Endless peace up to us bringing,
Dives he underneath life's
flood;
Stands in midst, with full hands, eyes caressing--
Hardly
waits the prayer to grant the blessing.
Let his mild looks of invading
Deep into thy spirit go;
By his
blessedness unfading
Thou thy heart possessed shalt know.
Hearts
of all men, spirits all, and senses
Mingle, and a new glad dance
commences.
Grasp his hands with boldness yearning;
Stamp his face thy heart
upon;
Turning toward him, ever turning,
Thou, the flower, must
face thy sun.
Who to him his heart's last fold unfoldeth,
True as
wife's his heart for ever holdeth.
Ours is now that Godhead's splendour
At whose name we used to
quake!
South and north, its breathings tender
Heavenly germs at
once awake!
Let us then in