Page:Poems Stephens.djvu/5

POEMS.

THE STAR OF HOPE.

Thou gentle star that kindly beams
 Upon the weary traveler's sight,
When he has seen his brightest dreams
 Fade as the day does into the night;
Thou then dost cheer his lonely way,
 And lift his drooping head,
And speak of pleasures yet for him
 Though those he loved have fled.

Thou bidst the mourner cease to weep
 And lift his eye above.
And think no more of death's long sleep
 But of a Saviour's love.
Thou bidst him look beyond the grave
 To scenes of bliss on high,
Where hopes shall never know decay.
 And pleasures never die.

---

THE LILIES.

Sweet lilies are blooming in stagnated pools,
 And shed a perfume the most delicate there;
They flourish unstinted amid the deep gloom,
 Unrivalled in beauty, in purity rare.

And thus by their presence redeeming a spot
 That else would seem loathsome and full of decay,
And we are subdued by their influence sweet;
 All sense but of pleasure is banished away.

Some mortals are living surrounded by ills,
 And yet are themselves what is noble and pure,
So watchful and faithful in life's every work,
 So patient, whatever they're called to endure.

By this is their presence most certainly known,
 And hearts will be moved by their labors of love,
They're like the sweet lilies that bloom in the mire,
 Upheld by the hand of the Father above.

---

THE DERBY EXTENSION.

They came from the crowded cities,
 Those men of the tireless brain,
And roamed o'er the hills and mountains
 As well as the valley and plain.

A Starbuck and Stevenson came,
 With surveyors, contractors and bosses.
Each eagerly looking for gains
 And keenly forseeing the losses.

With transit and chain and level
 They carefully measured the sod,
Where never before in the ages
 A foot of humanity trod.

And when all the inches were counted
 And noted down ever so nice,
Ten all of these briars and brambles
 Were bought at a liberal price.

And then came a host from Italia
 And Erin, beautiful isle,
And hurrying hither and thither
 Were jabbering all the while.

They slaughtered the kings of the forest,
 As well as the tenderest shoot,
And lest there should be a revival
 They burned them branches and root.

And rocks that were firm as a fortress,
 And towering high in the air,
Were quickly broken asunder
 And scattered everywhere.

And bridges were thrown o'er the chasm
 Though yawning ever so wide,
And tunnels were made through the mountain
 And streamlets forever were dried.

And the sound of th« pick and shovel
 From dawn until dark was heard,
And quite too often was mingled
 With none of the gentlest word.

With horses, and mules, and oxen,
 With drag, wheelbarrow and car,
They shifted the dirt from the hillside
 And scattered it near and far.

There were shanties along the roadside,
 And tents on the meadows were seen,
And little was known of the Sabbath
 As if there had none ever been.

Some men have been blown in fragments
 Some blinded, and crippled beside,
Some wearily homesick have been,
 Some alas! sickened and died.

But oft we've heard the rock-a-lay song
 Come floating over the hill,
And sung as none again can sing,
 Whatever may be their will.

As often heard the dancers' feet
 Keep time on the old barn floor,
The music's hushed, that old tin pan
 Is brighter than twas before.

But now the ties are all scattered,
 The rails are holding them down,
And soon the brightest of engines
 Will sweep us into the town.

Yes, now we have a new railroad,
 'Tis puff and whistle and whew!
But this is only the telling
 What push and the cash can do.

---

CHANGE.

They lived, to us the world seemed bright,
 'Twas song and gladness everywhere,
The skies were clear, the flow'rs were gay,
 And fragrance lingered in the air.

They died, and what a change is wrought
 The world for us is wrapt in gloom,
And all our ways are lonely now,
 For love outlives the deepest tomb.