Page:The Poets and Poetry of the West.djvu/665

 1850-60.] GEORGE W. CROW ELL. 649 Where waves of light retreating roll Along the dim confines of day. Where pale and calm, yet stern it shines And leads the armies of the night, Which sweep with long and glistening lines. Like bannered hosts of peerless might. Along the pathway of the skies, Adown the blue and gleaming arch, Where day in fainting splendor flies Before their grand triumphal march. But yet shall she assert her might, When through the gateway of the dawn She rolls her crimson tides of light O'er mountain waste and smiling lawn. And thus, I thought, as ages wane, How in the cycles vast of time Successive souls shall rise and reign In constellations there sublime. And as the starry fields above Melt in the golden haze of day, Thus in the boundless realms of love The stars of mind shall fade away. Forever rising through the gloom. Their endless columns onward pour. The nations marching to the tomb. They pass from earth for evermore. And thus when with the solemn night I see her armies grand and vast, When Venus flames in splendor bright, My soul steals down the ages past, I see the star there brightly shine, Chaldea's pilgrims' guiding gem. The star which first with light divine Hung o'er the vales of Bethlehem. child of Eve ! O boon of life ! hope unto my soul that's given ! 1 gaze from out the dust of strife. From earth to thee, from thee to heaven. LOOK UP. Look up ! the future's all before ! There — let the past deep buried lie ; While life still nerves the arm to do. Let hope yet fire the soul to try. O bow not down before the blast, But stand erectly, firm and strong ; And bravely meet opposing fate — What though the struggle's fierce and long! Yes, bare your arm, and raise your head, And let your gaze be upward still ; The palm of victory lies before. And you shall grasp it, if you will ! The world may seek to put you down ; But that the world can never do, If, strong in conscious truth and right. Your purpose firm, you firm pursue. The men who've made a living mark, And won a name which ne'er can die. Have toiled through yeai'S of doubt and gloom Up to their immortality. How bright the generative scroll. Which marks the long descended line. That bore the sacred ark of truth Adown the dusky slopes of time ! They've often on the scaffold's deck, And often in the lonely cell. Maintained the dignity of right. And triumphed over earth and hell. O fainting soul, fresh courage take, While deeds like these immortal shine ; If thou wilt struggle to the end, The victory must and will be thine. And in that toil each drop of sweat Shall flash a jewel in thy crown ; The world may strew your path with thorns, But it can never ^^ut you down !