George Herbert Clarke
Skater and Wolves
SWIFTER the flight! Far, far and high
The wild air shrieks its savage cry,
And all the earth is ghostly pale,
While the young skater, strong and hale,
Skims fearlessly the forest by.
Hush! shrieking blast, but wail and sigh!
Well sped, O skater, fly thee, fly!
Mild moon, let not thy glory fail!
Swifter the flight!
O, hush thee, storm! thou canst not vie
With that low summons, hoarse and dry.
He hears, and oh! his spirits quail,—
He laughs and sobs within the gale,
On, anywhere! He must not die,—
Swifter the flight!
To a Butterfly
BUTTERFLY,
Flutter by,
Under and over,
Haunting the clover,
Each flashing wing
Fashioning
Quivering glories,
Luminous stories!
Life in a miniature!
Swiftly to win a pure
Realm of ideals,
Hoping it heals.
The best, the best
Is the endless quest.
Is hopefulness vain
To feel or to feign?
Know you not, save to say:
“It is glittering, glittering day,—
“The sun to me sings,
Beauty dowers my wings,
All of joy I attain.”—
Flutter by,
Butterfly!
Resentment
THE ocean bursts in very wrath,
The waters rush and whirl,
As the hardy diver cleaves a path
Down to the treasured pearl.
Ecclesiastes
GOD speaks. Life beats within the brain,
And crowding onward comes the cry
Of worlds,—and in the senses, pain!
And in the heart, eternity!
A Child’s Evening Hymn
SHEPHERD Jesus, in Thy arms
Let Thy little lamb repose,
Safe and free from all alarms
In the love the Shepherd shows;
May my slumber quiet be,
Angels watching over me!
Often mother dear has told
How the children Thou didst bless,
And I know that in Thy fold
All is joy and happiness:
May my slumber quiet be,
Angels watching over me!
Shepherd Jesus, make Thy child
Pure and gentle as the dew,
Keep my spirit undefiled
Waking, sleeping, kind and true:
May my slumber quiet be,
Angels watching over me!