Thoughts of heaven! they come when low The summer even breeze doth faintly blow; When the mighty sea shines clear, unstirr'd By the wavering tide, or the dipping bird: They come in the rush of the surging storm, When the blackening waves rear their giant form, -- When o'er the dark rocks curl the breakers white, And the terrible lightnings rend the night, -- When the noble ship hath vainly striven With the tempest's might, come thoughts of heaven. They come where man doth not intrude, In the untrack'd forest's solitude; In the stillness of the gray rock's height, Where the lonely eagle takes his flight; On peaks where lie the eternal snows; In the sunbright isle, 'mid its rich repose. In the healthy glen, by the dark clear lake, When the fair swan sails from her silent brake; When Nature reigns in her deepest rest, Pure thoughts of heaven come unrepress'd. They come as we gaze on the midnight sky When the star-gemm'd vault looks dark and high, And the soul, on the wings of thought sublime, Soars from the dim world, and the bounds of time. Till the mental eye becomes unseal'd, And the mystery of being in light revealed. They rise in the Gothic chapel dim, When slowly comes forth the holy hymn, And the organ's rich tones swell full and high, Till the roof peals back the melody. Thoughts of heaven! from his joy beguiled, They come to the bright-eyed, sinless child; To man of age in his dim decay, Bringing hope that his youth had borne away; To the woe-smit soul in its dark distress, As flowers spring up in the wilderness: And in silent chambers of the dead, When the mourner goes with soundless tread; For, as the day-beams freely fall, Pure thoughts of heaven are sent to all. |