Classic Poem

‘Ave, Maria’; o'er the earth and sea,
That heavenliest hour of heaven is worthiest thee.
‘Ave, Maria’; blessed be the hour,
The time, the clime, the spot, where I so oft
Have felt that moment in its fullest power
Sink o'er the earth so beautiful and soft,
While swung the deep bell in the distant tower,
Or the faint dying day-hymn stole aloft,
And not a breath crept through the rosy air,
And yet, the forest leaves seemed stirred with prayer.

‘Ave, Maria’; 'tis the hour of prayer;
‘Ave, Maria’; 'tis the hour of love;
Ave, Maria’; may our spirits dare
Look up to thine and to thy Son's above;
‘Ave, Maria’; oh, that face so fair;
Those down-cast eyes beneath the Almighty Dove—
What though 'tis but a pictured image strike,
That painting is no idol—'tis too like.