Classic Poem

From old to new, with broadening sweep,
The stream of life moves on;
And still its changing currents keep
A changeless undertone.

In prophet word and martyr faith,
Vision of saint and seer,
The poet's song, the hero's death, —
That undertone we hear.

A sense we have of things unseen
Transcending things of time;
We catch, earth's broken chords between,
The everlasting chime:

And light breaks through the rifted haze
In shining vistas broad;
We travel the eternal ways,
Held by the hand of God.