Classic Poem

Sweet name of Mary, name of names save one —
And that, my Queen, so wedded unto thine,
Our hearts hear both in either, and enshrine
Instinctively the Mother with the Son —
The lisping child's new accent has begun,
Heaven-taught, with thee; first fervent, happy youth
Makes thee the Watch-word of its maiden truth;
Repentant age, the Hope of the undone.
To me, known late but timely, thou hast been
The noon-day Freshness of a wooded height;
A Vale of soothing waters; the Delight
Of fadeless verdure in a desert scene;
And when, ere long, my day shall set serene,
Be Hesper to an eve without a night.