Page:Poems by Frances Fuller Victor.djvu/58

 A LYRIC OF LIFE.

Said one to me: "I seem to be

Like a bird blown out to sea,

In the hurricane's wild track—

Lost, wing-weary, beating back

Vainly toward a fading shore,

It shall rest on nevermore."

Said I: "Betide, some good ships ride,

Over all the waters wide;

Spread your wings upon the blast,

Let it bear you far and fast—

In some sea serene and blue,

Succor-ships are waiting you."

This soul then said: "Would I were dead,

Billows rolling o'er my head;

Those that sail the ships will cast

Storm-waifs back into the blast;

Omens evil will they call

What the hurricane lets fall."

For my reply: "Beneath the sky

Countless isles of beauty lie:

Waifs upon the ocean thrown,

After tossings long and lone,

To those blessed shores have come,

Finding there love, heaven, and home."

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