Zinzendorff and Other Poems/On Seeing a Lady's Gold Chain, among the Offerings at a Temperance Society
ON SEEING A LADY'S GOLD CHAIN, AMONG THE OFFERINGS AT A TEMPERANCE SOCIETY.
Would that thou hadst a voice, thou graceful toy,
To tell me of the giver. Fancy paints
A young and radiant brow, and a clear eye
Kindling with holier light, as thou wert thrown
Off from the polish'd neck. Thou wert, perchance,
Some favor'd gift, the talisman of Love,
Or Friendship's bright memento. Still 'tis well,
That thou art here. Henceforth that Love shall be
Remember'd by the hallow'd deeds that bless
And save mankind; nor could pure Friendship ask
A truer token than the heaven-wrought links
That bind the soul to virtue.
So go forth,
Thou glittering gift, well barter'd for the wealth
Of changeless memory. She who wore thee once,
With the fond thrill of vanity, hath found
A better ornament, than gold or pearls,
Or rich array.
Blest stranger, still be true
To mercy's angel-prompting. What thine hand
Can do for other s good, do with the might
Of woman's tenderness. With flowery links
Of soft persuasion, draw the erring soul
Back from that beetling precipice, where foams
The fiery flood of ruin. Toil to uproot
Those weeds of Vice, that by the wayside spring,
Or in the garden, 'mid its choicest flowers,
Unblushingly intrude. Serenely show
In thine own saintly life, the blessedness
Of that meek mind, which Temperance and Peace
Fair-handed sisters, guide in duty's path,
And crown with beauty, that survives the tomb.