Classic and Contemporary Poetry
DANIEL GRAY, by JOSIAH GILBERT HOLLAND Poet's Biography First Line: If I shall ever win the home in heaven Last Line: I shall be sure to find old daniel gray. | ||||||||
IF I shall ever win the home in heaven For whose sweet rest I humbly hope and pray, In the great company of the forgiven I shall be sure to find old Daniel Gray. I knew him well; in truth, few knew him better; For my young eyes oft read for him the Word, And saw how meekly from the crystal letter He drank the life of his beloved Lord. Old Daniel Gray was not a man who lifted On ready words his freight of gratitude, Nor was he called as one among the gifted, In the prayer-meetings of his neighborhood. He had a few old-fashioned words and phrases, Linked in with sacred texts and Sunday rhymes; And I suppose that in his prayers and graces I've heard them all at least a thousand times. I see him now -- his form, his face, his motions, His homespun habit, and his silver hair, -- And hear the language of his trite devotions, Rising behind the straight-backed kitchen chair. I can remember how the sentence sounded -- "Help us, O Lord, to pray and not to faint!" And how the "conquering and to conquer" rounded The loftier aspirations of the saint. He had some notions that did not improve him: He never kissed his children -- so they say; And finest scenes and fairest flowers would move him Less than a horse-shoe picked up in the way. He had a hearty hatred of oppression, And righteous words for sin of every kind; Alas, that the transgressor and transgression Were linked so closely in his honest mind! He could see naught but vanity in beauty, And naught but weakness in a fond caress, And pitied men whose views of Christian duty Allowed indulgence in such foolishness. Yet there were love and tenderness within him; And I am told that when his Charley died, Nor nature's need nor gentle words could win him From his fond vigils at the sleeper's side. And when they came to bury little Charley They found fresh dew-drops sprinkled in his hair, And on his breast a rose-bud gathered early, And guessed, but did not know, who placed it there. Honest and faithful, constant in his calling, Strictly attendant on the means of grace, Instant in prayer, and fearful most of falling, Old Daniel Gray was always in his place. A practical old man, and yet a dreamer, He thought that in some strange, unlooked-for way His mighty Friend in Heaven, the great Redeemer, Would honor him with wealth some golden day. This dream he carried in a hopeful spirit Until in death his patient eye grew dim, And His Redeemer called him to inherit The heaven of wealth long garnered up for him. So, if I ever win the home in heaven For whose sweet rest I humbly hope and pray, In the great company of the forgiven I shall be sure to find old Daniel Gray. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...BITTER-SWEET: CRADLE SONG [OR, BABYHOOD] by JOSIAH GILBERT HOLLAND THE NEED FOR MEN by JOSIAH GILBERT HOLLAND WHERE SHALL THE BABY'S DIMPLE BE? by JOSIAH GILBERT HOLLAND AN INVOCATION TO SLEEP by JOSIAH GILBERT HOLLAND BITTER-SWEET: IN THE CELLAR by JOSIAH GILBERT HOLLAND BITTER-SWEET: THE COST OF WORTH by JOSIAH GILBERT HOLLAND GIVE US MEN by JOSIAH GILBERT HOLLAND LULLABY by JOSIAH GILBERT HOLLAND ON THE RIGHI by JOSIAH GILBERT HOLLAND THE OLD CLOCK OF PRAGUE by JOSIAH GILBERT HOLLAND THE WALKING MAN OF RODIN by CARL SANDBURG ON AN UNFINISHED STATUE BY MICHAEL ANGELO by GEORGE SANTAYANA |
|