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282  MARY E. BROOKS. 

Weep for the death pangs of the heart, 
Ere being form the bosom part; 
But never be a tear-drop given, 
To those that rest in you blue heaven. 


THE LAMENT OF JUDAH. 

JEREMIAH, iv. 30. 

In vain the crimson garment now, 
It wraps a feeble limb; 
In vain the jewel decks the brow, 
The eye beneath is dim: 
For days gone by, for days to come, 
In weary thoughts of blasted home, 
Does Judah's heart, and Judah's eye,
Darken amid your revelry. 

Ye have your homes, your hearths; your sires 
Sleep 'neath the garden tree; 
Where are our hearths, our altar fires, 
And what, oh what are we? 
'Tis our's to pour the tear-drop fast, 
Above the bright and buried past; 
For this does Judah's heart and eye 
Turn sickening from your revelry!

THE SONG OF CAPTIVE ISRAEL. 

PSALM cxxxvii. 

Come, sweep the harp! one thrilling rush 
Of all that warm'd its chords to song, 
And then the strains for ever hush 
That oft have breathed its wires along! 
The ray is quench'd that lit our mirth, 
The shrine is gone that claim'd the prayer; 



MARY E. BROOKS.  283

And exiles o'er the distant earth, 
How can we wake the carol there.

One sigh, my harp! and then to sleep, 
For all that loved thy song have flown;
Why should'st thou lonely vigils keep, 
Forsaken, broken, and alone?
Let this sad murmur be thy last,
Nor e'er again in music swell; 
Thine hours of joyousness are past, 
And thus we sever: fare thee well! 


DREAM OF LIFE. 

I HEARD the music of the wave, 
As it rippled to the shore; 
And saw the willow branches lave, 
As light winds swept them o'er; 
The music of the golden bow, 
That did the torrent span;
But I heard a sweeter music flow 
From the youthful heart of man. 

The wave rushed on; the hues of heaven 
Fainter and fainter grew; 
And deeper melodies were given 
As swift the changes flew:
Then came a shadow on my sight, 
The golden bow was dim: 
And he that laugh'd beneath its light, 
What was the change to him? 

I saw him not; only a throng 
Like the swell of troubled ocean, 
Rising, sinking, swept along 
In the tempest's wild commotion: 

Transcription Notes:
---------- Reopened for Editing 2023-06-29 09:59:58