GO! trace th' unnumbered Streams, o'er earth That wind their devious course, That draw from Alpine heights their birth, Deep vale, or cavern source. Some by majestic cities glide, Proud scenes of man's renown, Some lead their solitary tide Where pathless forests frown. Some calmly roll o'er golden sands, Where Afric's deserts lie; Or spread, to clothe rejoicing lands With rich fertility. These bear the bark, whose stately sail Exulting seems to swell; While these, scarce rippled by a gale, Sleep in the lonely dell. Yet on, alike, though swift or slow Their various waves may sweep Through cities or through shades, they flow To the same boundless deep. Oh! thus, whate'er our path of life, Through sunshine or through gloom, Through scenes of quiet or of strife, Its end is still the tomb. The chief whose mighty deeds we hail, The monarch throned on high, The peasant in his native vale, All journey on -- to die! But if @3Thy@1 guardian care, my God! The pilgrim's course attend, I will not fear the dark abode, To which my footsteps bend. For thence Thine all-redeeming Son, Who died the world to save, In light, in triumph, rose, and won The victory from the grave! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...EPITAPHS OF THE WAR, 1914-18: A DEAD STATESMAN by RUDYARD KIPLING SUMMER LONGINGS by DENIS FLORENCE MCCARTHY THE AEOLIAN HARP; AT THE SURF INN by HERMAN MELVILLE THE LACHRYMATORY by CHARLES TENNYSON TURNER ON SEEING THE SUN SHINE ... MY WINDOW FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE YEAR by LUCY AIKEN A SONG OF SUN SETTING by JANE BARLOW |