Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, OUR JEWISH ORPHANS' HOME, by MIRIAM DEL BANCO



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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

OUR JEWISH ORPHANS' HOME, by                    
First Line: Back from the street, within a wreath of bowers
Last Line: Our sacred trust,—our jewish orphans' home!
Subject(s): Charity; Children; Jews; Orphans; Philanthropy; Childhood; Judaism; Foundlings


Back from the street, within a wreath of bowers,
A stately mansion rears its lofty wall;
Bright sunshine falls in flecks and golden showers;
Birds twitter in the waving tree-tops tall;
And Peace, methinks, doth keep her watch before it,—
Her snowy banner waves above its dome:
And Love and Charity do hover o'er it,
For 'tis our newly-finished Orphans' Home.

Its walls in silent eloquence seem telling
Of those who worked to see the task complete;
The firm and noble will that shaped the dwelling,—
Forsaken childhood's refuge and retreat;
Here are no rooms with gloomy shadows falling,
No corridors that seem to shun the light;
But every part, the loving heart's recalling,
That planned the Home, is open, pure and bright.

Near by it, once, the old house gave protection
To many a wandering foot and homeless head;
Here tender minds were led by sweet affection.
And youth to womanhood and manhood sped;
Here pretty little friendships were cemented,
While careful hands supplied each daily need;
Love's soft dominion made the heart contented,
And truth and virtue woke to living deed.

But where are now the countless ones, that turning
From yon wide gateway, sought the smile of Fame?
The busy scenes of life, the haunts of learning
Have grown familiar with the orphan's name;
The boy, an honor to his race and nation,
Ennobles e'en the cramped and sordid mart;
The girl, in varied ranks of life and station,
Sheds light on many a happy home and heart.

And they, the men who plenned its first foundation,
Who raised this monument of charity,
Who loved it from the hour of its creation,
And cared for it with loving constancy,—
Do they not glory in the smiling faces,
The crowd of former inmates gathered near;
To find them filling useful, honored places,
And hear their words of gratitude and cheer?

To think of all the lives their care has brightened,
Of all the homes their charity has blessed,
How many widowed hearts their love has lightened,
How many minds by anxious care oppressed
Their efforts have relieved of keenest anguish,
How many little ones, left all alone
In life's dark shades of poverty to languish,
Found shelter in the Jewish Orphans' Home!

Alas! not many of the friends are near us
Who planned this refuge twenty years ago!
Their kindly faces come no more to cheer us,—
They slumber where the waving grasses grow;
Immortal as the skies that smile above them,
Pure as the perfume by the lilies shed,
They live within the hearts of those who loved them—
Our fondly cherished, never dying dead.

And near this Home, their figures seem to meet us,
The shady walk, the open door they throng;
And far-off voices faintly come to greet us,
Like echoes of a well-remembered song;
They seem to tell us: "From this lofty dwelling,
The light of charity shall gild the years;—
A song of love shall flow, that, upward swelling,
Shall mingle with the music of the spheres."

O, fair new Home, thy beauty ne'er shall vanish,—
Thy purity shall never pass away!
Thy walls shall evermore the shadows banish
That threaten helpless childhood's tender day!
Thou art an index of our past endeavors,—
A key for nobler efforts yet to come;
O, may God's blessing rest upon thee ever,
Our sacred trust,—our Jewish Orphans' Home!





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