’Tis sunset on the ocean! Let us gaze:— A Sabbath sunset; and all things combine To give it peace and beauty; for the winds Have folded their broad pinions, and have sunk To peaceful slumber on the ocean’s breast— The sportive waves, that tossed their spray erewhile, Displume their crests in reverence for the hour, And all is calm around. The curtain cloud That hung o’er all the west throws wide its folds, And in the clear blue ether far away Bright islands of the blest seem floating, free From the rough cares that fret this lower world, And radiant in a glory all divine. Are not our long-lost loved ones hov’ring there, Can we not see them wave their hands of light, As if to beckon to their bright abodes? Are not celestial harp-strings sounding? Oh! Let glad imagination spread her wings, And soar to catch the echoes of their songs Ere the ethereal vision fades away. Hail to a scene that wakens thoughts like these. ’Tis sweet to rise, though but on fancy’s wing, And antedate communion with the blest, For Heaven is real! May its magnet power Touch every point of vision! till the soul, Drawn by a might resistless, centres there! |