Classic and Contemporary Poetry
VERSES TO AN INFANT, by BERNARD BARTON Poet's Biography First Line: Blessings rest on thee, happy one Last Line: In mercy be fulfill'd. Alternate Author Name(s): Quaker Poet Subject(s): Babies; Infants | ||||||||
BLESSINGS rest on thee, happy one! All that parental love Could ask, or wish, since life begun, Be given thee from above. Fruitless the wish, and vain the prayer, For perfect bliss, would be; Thou canst not shun what all must share, Nor 'scape from sorrow free. What all must meet, thou canst not miss; Yet mayst thou, sweet-one! know Capacity to relish bliss, And strength to combat wo. May that pure innocence, which now Is infancy's best spell, Encircle long thy cloudless brow, And in thy bosom dwell. It is the talisman, whose touch Is like Ithuriel's spear; And it shall teach thee, us'd as such, Both what to love and fear. In all the countless codes and creeds Which man for man has plann'd, Is much, that he who oftenest reads Can never understand. May these be as a volume seal'd; A fountain clos'd to thee; And in thy heart shall be reveal'd Life's true philosophy. Thus should it be; for thou art one Round whom the enlight'ning ray Of nature's outward, glorious sun, Will freely sport and play. And the uncharter'd breeze, that sweeps Thy native valley fair, Will dry the tear thy young eye weeps, And wave thy flowing hair. Then be a child of nature's school, Her silent teachings trace; And she shall fit thee for the rule Of holy, heavenly grace. For they are still the truly wise, Who earliest learn to look On earth's best charms, on sun, and skies, As wisdom's open book. There may thy dawning reason read Instruction, line by line; And guileless thought, and virtuous deed, In life's first bloom be thine. Thus taught, nor art, nor base deceit Shall mar thy opening youth; Thy heart with healthful hopes shall beat, Thy tongue be tun'd to truth. And when, through childhood's paths of flowers, Thy infant steps have trod, Thy soul shall be, in after hours, Prepar'd to learn of GOD! His SPIRIT, plac'd within thy heart, Shall fill it, from above, With grace to act a Christian's part, And keep it pure by love. And thou shalt find in every stage Of ripening soul and sense, That virtue's guard, in youth, in age, Is holy innocence! Parewell! I dare not hope that prayer Of mine can prove of worth; Yet this may not disperse in air, Since thou hast given it birth. Oh, for thy sake! and theirs no less, Who on thy being build! May the warm hopes these lines express, In mercy be fulfill'd. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A POET TO HIS BABY SON by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON BABYHOOD by ELIZABETH AKERS ALLEN INFANCY by EDMUND JOHN ARMSTRONG BALLAD OF THE LAYETTE by WAYNE KOESTENBAUM A TOAST FOR LITTLE IRON MIKE by PAUL MARIANI THE PAMPERING OF LEORA by THYLIAS MOSS ONE FOR ALL NEWBORNS by THYLIAS MOSS IN THE THRIVING SEASON by LISEL MUELLER BRUCE AND THE SPIDER by BERNARD BARTON |
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