Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, STANZAS, by ELIZABETH OAKES PRINCE SMITH



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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

STANZAS, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: O god! That we should live, the dull pulse beat
Last Line: There are who martyrs live to their dark fate.
Alternate Author Name(s): Smith, Seba (e. Oakes), Mrs.; Oakes-smith, Elizabeth


O GOD! that we should live, the dull pulse beat,
When all that should be life is cold and sere!
When thought, which angel-like is high and fleet,
Is crush'd to earth, what doth the spirit here!
And yet, and yet I would not feebly shrink
From this dread cup of suffering, -- let me drink.

For in this darkest hour there cometh yet
A soothing ministry, unseen but felt;
An inward prompting -- Thou wilt not forget!
And tears gush forth, -- the eyes that would not melt,
Train'd in the school of grief, at thought of Thee
Pour forth their pent-up fountains, fast and free.

Life-Giver! who hast planted in the soul
This seed-time dread of hopes too high for earth,
Emotions, yearnings, time may not control,
In heaven alone, Oh! hath the harvest birth?
Oh wherefore doth the heart, deluded still,
Its broken urn from earth's dark fountains fill?

Not at the gory wheel, the fiery stake;
Not where the rack gives forth the lingering breath --
Not there alone do martyr'd spirits break,
Not there alone dost thou find such, O Death!
Another test; crush'd by a hidden weight,
There are who martyrs live to their dark fate.





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