Classic Poem

'T WAS holy time: the winter sun gleamed coldly from the skies.
And in the heart few summer thoughts could easily arise.
The birds were wanting from the groves the list'ning ear to charm;
The chilly atmosphere almost forbade the heart to warm.
And, in this cold and dreary time, a maiden 'gan to read,
Her heart depressed, her soul benumbed, and none her state to heed.
But, from on high, a Father saw; his book was in her hand,
And swiftly o'er her soul he sent airs from the better land:
They wafted peace and joy to her the motherless and lone,
And cheered her with an influence which she had seldom known.
Long years had passed since she had breathed that aroma sublime:
It brought back vanished memories of hours in summer time,
When, as a child, she read a book by casement opened wide;
And sweet, bright visions cheered her soul at sabbath eventide.
What book was that whose pages had a charm for childhood's hour?
'Twas e'en a record of a life so holy, that its power
Was felt in plastic childhood's time as if a magi's rod,
And proved the channel through which came the glorious peace of God:
So now, as reading in the book, which, more than all beside,
Tells how the holy-hearted have for others lived and died,
Those fragrant zephyrs, from the land where flowerets never fade,
Around her spirit, as of yore, in welcome sweetness played.
Nor can we wonder; for the book was redolent of heaven,
With its story of the Crucified, through whom are sins forgiven;
With its record of the wondrous works our God on earth hath wrought,
And its revelations of the land with radiant glory fraught.
Oh! when our hearts, with gloom o'ercast, shrink from the winter sky,
And oft we wish Hope's summer day could evermore be nigh,
How like dear, soothing angels come those promises sublime
Which speak of happier days for us, beyond the bounds of Time!
Well might the gifted lady oft its holy pages read,
And gather strength and hope and joy for her deep spirit-need:
For to the soul which seeketh light from its rich, varied lore
Shall calm and holy peace and joy be given evermore;
And whether read in winter's cold, or 'mid the summer's heat,
Will bear to all who read in faith an influence pure and sweet.