Poems : patriotic, religious, miscellaneous / by Abram J. Ryan [electronic text]
About this Item
Title
Poems : patriotic, religious, miscellaneous / by Abram J. Ryan [electronic text]
Author
Ryan, Abram Joseph, 1836-1886
Publication
Baltimore, Md.: John B. Piet & Co.
1884
Rights/Permissions
The University of Michigan Library provides access to these materials for educational and research purposes. These materials are in the public domain in the United States. If you have questions about the collection please contact Digital Content & Collections at dlps-help@umich.edu, or if you have concerns about the inclusion of an item in this collection, please contact Library Information Technology at LibraryIT-info@umich.edu.
"Poems : patriotic, religious, miscellaneous / by Abram J. Ryan [electronic text]." In the digital collection American Verse Project. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/BAD9548.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed June 13, 2024.
Pages
LAST OF MAY.
To the Children of Mary of the Cathedral of Mobile.
In the mystical dim of the temple,In the dream-haunted dim of the day,The sunlight spoke soft to the shadows,And said: "With my gold and your gray,Let us meet at the shrine of the Virgin,And ere her fair feast pass away,Let us weave there a mantle of glory,To deck the last evening of May."
descriptionPage 70
The tapers were lit on the altar,With garlands of lilies between;And the steps leading up to the statueFlashed bright with the roses' red sheen;The sungleams came down from the heavensLike angels, to hallow the scene,And they seemed to kneel down with the shadowsThat crept to the shrine of the Queen.
The singers, their hearts in their voices,Had chanted the anthems of old,And the last trembling wave of the VespersOn the far-shores of silence had rolled.And there — at the Queen-Virgin's altar —The sun wove the mantle of goldWhile the hands of the twilight were weavingA fringe for the flash of each fold.
And wavelessly, in the deep silence,Three banners hung peaceful and low —They bore the bright blue of the heavens,They wore the pure white of the snow—And beneath them fair children were kneeling,Whose faces, with graces aglow,Seemed sinless, in land that is sinful,And woeless, in life full of woe.
descriptionPage 71
Their heads wore the veil of the lily,Their brows wore the wreath of the rose,And their hearts like their flutterless banners,Were stilled in a holy repose.Their shadowless eyes were uplifted,Whose glad gaze would never discloseThat from eyes that are most like the heavensThe dark rain of tears soonest flows.
The banners were borne to the railing,Beneath them, a group from each band,And they bent their bright folds for the blessingThat fell from the priest's lifted hand.And he signed the three fair, silken standards,With a sign never foe could withstand.What stirred them? The breeze of the evening?Or a breath from the far angel-land?
Then came, two by two, to the altar,The young, and the pure, and the fair,Their faces the mirror of Heaven,Their hands folded meekly in prayer.They came for a simple blue ribbon,For love of Christ's Mother to wear;And I believe, with the Children of Mary,The Angels of Mary were there.
descriptionPage 72
Ah, faith! simple faith of the children!You still shame the faith of the old!Ah! love! simple love of the little,You still warm the love of the cold!And the beautiful God who is wanderingFar out in the world's dreary wold,Finds a home in the hearts of the childrenAnd a rest with the lambs of the fold.
Swept a voice: was it wafted from Heaven?Heard you ever the sea when it sings,Where it sleeps on the shore in the night-time?Heard you ever the hymns the breeze bringsFrom the hearts of a thousand bright summers?Heard you ever the bird, when she springsTo the clouds, till she seems to be onlyA song of a shadow on wings?
Came a voice: and an "Ave Maria"Rose out of a heart rapture-thrilled;And in the embrace of its musicThe souls of a thousand lay stilled.A voice with the tones of an angel,Never flower such a sweetness distilled;It faded away — but the templeWith its perfume of worship was filled.
descriptionPage 73
Then back to the Queen-Virgin's altarThe white veils swept on, two by two;And the holiest halo of heavenFlashed out from the ribbons of blue;And they laid down the wreaths of the rosesWhose hearts were as pure as their hue;Ah! they to the Christ are the truest,Whose loves to the Mother are true!
And thus, in the dim of the temple,In the dream-haunted dim of the day,The Angels and Children of MaryMet ere their Queen's Feast passed away,Where the sungleams knelt down with the shadowsAnd wove with their gold and their grayA mantle of grace and of gloryFor the last, lovely evening of May.
email
Do you have questions about this content? Need to report a problem?
Please contact us.