Poetry Archives

Far from the great lake’s pride,
  Over the ocean vast,
Two faces picture, side by side,
  The future and the past.

On one is the flush of dawn
  And the light of the morning star;
On the other a shade, from knowledge drawn
  And the dusk of the sunset bar.

One brow has the spotless sweep
  Of a page that is white and fair;
The other forehead is graven deep
  With lines of thought and care.

The eyes of the child look out
  On a world all pure and sweet;
But those of the man are sad from doubt
  And a knowledge of men’s deceit.

To the baby’s dainty ears
  Only love’s accents flow;
Through the man’s alas! have surged for years
  Stories of crime and woe.

Held in the infant’s grasp
  Is a tiny, lifeless toy;
In the father’s firm yet tender clasp
  Is his last great hope,—his boy!

Wisely the parent peers
  Through the future’s unknown skies,
For knowledge of life has awakened fears
  Of the storms that may arise

When his darling boy no more
  Can cling to his father’s breast,
But when on the strand of the silent shore
  That father shall be at rest.

Ah me! could the wisdom won
  Through the father’s fateful years
Be but transmitted to the son,
  There were little need for fears.

But each must tread alone
  The wine-press of his life;
Into each cup by Fate is thrown
  The bitter drops of strife.

Forth from that fond embrace
  Must the little stranger go;
For the rising sun must mount through space.
  And the waning sun sink low.