________________________________________________
Title: The Beacon-Light
Author: John S. Adams [
More Titles by Adams]
DIMLY burns the beacon-light
On the mountain top to-night;
Faint as whisper ever fell,
Falls the watcher's cry,--"All's well;"
For the clouds have met on high,
And the blast sweeps angry by;
Not a star is seen this night,--
God, preserve the beacon-light!
Lo! a man whom age doth bow
Wanders up the pathway now;
Wistfully his eye he turns
To the light that dimly burns;
And, as it less glow doth shed,
Quicker, quicker is his tread;
And he prays that through the night
God may keep the beacon-light.
Far below him, rocks and waves
Mark the place of others' graves;
Other travellers, who, like him,
Saw the beacon-light burn dim.
But they trusted in their strength
To attain the goal at length;--
This old traveller prays, to-night,
"God, preserve the beacon-light!"
Fainter, fainter is its ray,--
Shall its last gleam pass away?
Shall it be extinguished quite?
Shall it burn, though not as bright?
Fervently goes up his prayer;
Patiently he waiteth there,
Trusting Him who doeth right
To preserve the beacon-light.
Look you now! the light hath burst
Brighter than it was at first;
Now with ten-fold radiance glows,
And the traveller homeward goes.
As the clouds grow darker o'er him,
Brighter grows the light before him;
God, who doeth all things right,
Hath preserved the beacon-light.
Thus upon the path we tread
God a guiding light hath shed;
Though at times our hearts are weary,
Though the path we tread is dreary,
Though the beacon's lingering ray
Seems as if 't would pass away,--
Be our prayer, through all the night,
"God, preserve the beacon-light!"
Threatening clouds may gather o'er us,
Countless dangers rise before us:
If in God we seek for strength,
He will succor us at length:
He his holy light will send,
To conduct us to the end.
Trust thy God, through day and night,
He'll preserve thy beacon-light.
[The end]
John S. Adams's poem: Beacon-Light
________________________________________________
GO TO TOP OF SCREEN
