Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, DREAMS AND REALITIES, by PHOEBE CARY


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

DREAMS AND REALITIES, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: O rosamond, thou fair and good
Last Line: "shall be thy faith's reward."
Subject(s): Faith; Friendship; Belief; Creed


O ROSAMOND, thou fair and good,
And perfect flower of womanhood,
Thou royal rose of June,
Why didst thou droop before thy time?
Why wither in thy first sweet prime?
Why didst thou die so soon?

For looking backward through my tears
On thee, and on my wasted years,
I cannot choose but say,
If thou hadst lived to be my guide,
Or thou hadst lived and I had died,
'T were better far to-day.

O child of light, O golden head --
Bright sunbeam for one moment shed
Upon life's lonely way --
Why didst thou vanish from our sight?
Could they not spare my little light
From heaven's unclouded day?

O friend so true, O friend so good --
Thou one dream of my maidenhood,
That gave youth all its charms --
What had I done, or what hadst thou,
That through this lonesome world till now
We walk with empty arms?

And yet, had this poor soul been fed
With all it loved and coveted --
Had life been always fair --
Would these dear dreams that ne'er depart,
That thrill with bliss my inmost heart,
Forever tremble there?

If still they kept their earthly place,
The friends I held in my embrace,
And gave to death, alas!
Could I have learned that clear, calm faith
That looks beyond the bounds of death,
And almost longs to pass?

Sometimes, I think, the things we see
Are shadows of the things to be;
That what we plan we build;
That every hope that hath been crossed,
And every dream we thought was lost,
In heaven shall be fulfilled;

That even the children of the brain
Have not been born and died in vain,
Though here unclothed and dumb;
But on some brighter, better shore
They live, embodied evermore,
And wait for us to come.

And when on that last day we rise,
Caught up between the earth and skies,
Then shall we hear our Lord
Say, "Thou hast done with doubt and death;
Henceforth, according to thy faith,
Shall be thy faith's reward."





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