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276   ELIZABETH OAKES SMITH

THE RECALL, OR SOUL MELODY

NOR dulcimer nor harp shall breathe. 
Their melody for me; 
Within my secret soul be wrought 
A holier minstrelsy! 
Descend into thy depths, oh soul 
And every sense in me control.

Thou hast no voice for outward mirth, 
Whose purer strains arise 
From those that steal from crystal gates, 
The hymnings of the skies; 
And well may earth's cold jarrings cease, 
When such have soothed thee unto peace.

Within thy secret chamber rest, 
And back each sense recall,
That seeketh 'mid the tranquil stars
Where melody shall fall; 
Call home the wanderer from the vale, 
From mountain and the moonlight pale.

Within the leafy wood, the sound 
Of dropping rain may ring,
Which, rolling from the trembling leaf, 
Falls on the sparrow's wing; 
And music round the waking flower 
May breathe in every star-lit bower:

Yet, come away! nor stay to hear 
The breathings of a voice 
Whose subtle tones awake a thrill
To make thee to rejoice, 
And vibrate on the listening ear, 
Too deep, too earnest, ah, too dear.


ELIZABETH OAKES SMITH  277 

Yes, come away, and inward turn 
Each thought and every sense, 
For sorrow lingers from without, 
Thou canst not charm it thence; 
But all attuned the soul may be, 
Unto a deathless melody.

THE APRIL RAIN.

THE April rain! the April rain! 
I hear the pleasant sound, 
Now soft and still, like gentle dew, 
Now drenching all the ground. 
Pray tell me why an April shower 
Is pleasanter to see 
Than falling drops of other rain? 
I'm sure it is to me.

I wonder if 't is really so, 
Or only Hope, the while, 
That tells of swelling buds and flowers, 
And Summer's coming smile:
Whate'er it is, the April shower 
Makes me a child again; 
I feel a rush of youthful blood, 
As falls the April rain.

And sure, were I a little bulb, 
Within the darksome ground, 
I should love to hear the April rain 
So softly falling round; Or any tiny flower were I,
By Nature swaddled up, 
How pleasantly the April shower 
Would bathe my hidden cup!
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Transcription Notes:
---------- Reopened for Editing 2023-06-29 10:40:14 ---------- Reopened for Editing 2023-06-29 09:54:50