FROM Rite and Ordinance abused they fled To Wilds where both were utterly unknown; But not to them had Providence foreshown What benefits are missed, what evils bred, In worship neither raised nor limited Save by Self-will. Lo! from that distant shore, For Rite and Ordinance, Piety is led Back to the Land those Pilgrims left of yore, Led by her own free choice. So Truth and Love By Conscience governed do their steps retrace. -- Fathers! your Virtues, such the power of grace, Their spirit, in your Children, thus approve. Transcendent over time, unbound by place, Concord and Charity in circles move. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...CORYDON - A PASTORAL by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH PSALM 23 by HENRY WILLIAMS BAKER ON THE PRAIRIE by HERBERT BATES MISAPPELLATION by STEPHANIE L. BINCKLI THE ART OF BOOK-KEEPING by SAMUEL LAMAN BLANCHARD THE VOICE OF AUTUMN by WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT |