Selected Verse

Waikato Times, Volume 122, Issue 20504, 21 May 1938, Page 15 (Supplement)

Selected Verse

THE FALL The blackbird singing on the tree Is care exempt and purpose free, While forethought never mars the strain Of boys who whistle down the lane. But man’s unquietness of mind Hankers still for an axe to grind And hides in heavy care from joy Of singing bird and whistling boy. The egocentric lord of brutes. Whose eyes are fastened on bis boots, Has shut his ears to minstrelsy Of boy in- lane and bird on tree. —E. B. Thomas. THE CLAIM Wherever spires are lifted high Cross-crowned, against a wintry sky Wherever open doors invite Whoever will, it is my right To enter in, beneath that dome To kneel, and pray, and be at home. Wherever Christian altars stand In any clime, in any land, Where sacramental bread is blessed I claim the welcome of a guest, At any time, on any road, Wherever Christ has His abode. —Lalia Mitchell Thornton.

A WEEPING BEECH Rare weeping beech, bright emerald mosque, A temple never made with hands, Your soft green curtains outward sway, Sweeping the velvet sward while bands Of eager pilgrims press the earth In reverence beneath your boughs, And find asylum from despair, And silently repeat new vows. If tongues have ever dwelt in trees, Ten thousand tongues dart forth in you To tell to every passing breeze Of beauty old yet ever new. You've lived almost a century. N[en come from far and near to view Your loveliness renewed each year, And learn to worship God in you. —Byrd Mock. TO THE SEA Wind-drift, flung from the waves, Sea-tune, sung to the sand, White foam, tossed by the storm And lost on the strand— Shock of the sundering surf, Surge of the sea, Rhythm of restless wind—Yours to be free! Joy in your ceaseless voice— Joy in the grander part. Now be the gladder choice— Mine be the singing heart! —E.S.L.