III

Yet not in vain, O River of Yesterday,
  Through chasms of darkness to the deep descending,
  I heard thee sobbing in the rain, and blending
  Thy voice with other voices far away. 
I called to thee, and yet thou wouldst not stay,
  But turbulent, and with thyself contending,
  And torrent-like thy force on pebbles spending,
  Thou wouldst not listen to a poet’s lay. 
Thoughts, like a loud and sudden rush of wings,
  Regrets and recollections of things past,
  With hints and prophecies of things to be,
And inspirations, which, could they be things,
  And stay with us, and we could hold them fast,
  Were our good angels,—­these I owe to thee.

IV

And thou, O River of To-morrow, flowing
  Between thy narrow adamantine walls,
  But beautiful, and white with waterfalls,
  And wreaths of mist, like hands the pathway showing;
I hear the trumpets of the morning blowing,
  I hear thy mighty voice, that calls and calls,
  And see, as Ossian saw in Morven’s halls,
  Mysterious phantoms, coming, beckoning, going! 
It is the mystery of the unknown
  That fascinates us; we are children still,
  Wayward and wistful; with one hand we cling
To the familiar things we call our own,
  And with the other, resolute of will,
  Grope in the dark for what the day will bring.

BOSTON

St. Bototlph’s Town!  Hither across the plains
  And fens of Lincolnshire, in garb austere,
  There came a Saxon monk, and founded here
  A Priory, pillaged by marauding Danes,
So that thereof no vestige now remains;
  Only a name, that, spoken loud and clear,
  And echoed in another hemisphere,
  Survives the sculptured walls and painted panes. 
St. Botolph’s Town!  Far over leagues of land
  And leagues of sea looks forth its noble tower,
  And far around the chiming bells are heard;
So may that sacred name forever stand
  A landmark, and a symbol of the power,
  That lies concentred in a single word.

ST. JOHN’S, CAMBRIDGE

I stand beneath the tree, whose branches shade
  Thy western window, Chapel of St. John! 
  And hear its leaves repeat their benison
  On him, whose hand if thy stones memorial laid;
Then I remember one of whom was said
  In the world’s darkest hour, “Behold thy son!”
  And see him living still, and wandering on
  And waiting for the advent long delayed. 
Not only tongues of the apostles teach
  Lessons of love and light, but these expanding
  And sheltering boughs with all their leaves implore,
And say in language clear as human speech,
  “The peace of God, that passeth understanding,
  Be and abide with you forevermore!”