THE sleeping infant lies content
Beneath adoring mother’s eyes –
While o’er him linger yet the scent
And sights and sounds of Paradise:
His dreams are hers, she walks with him.
The gardens of the Heavenly King,
And Cherubim and Seraphim
Hover around her while they sing:
No human word her joy can tell,
Her soul cries out “IMMANUEL!”
The infant, grown to riper years,
Forgets the glory of his birth,
Absorbed by mortal hopes and fears,
He casts his anchor to the earth:
He needs the good that gold will bring
And turns his steps to seek for gold,
Or, aiming at some nobler thing,
He bids his intellect unfold,
In human knowledge to excel,
Ignoring his “IMMANUEL!”
Some angel, clad in human guise,
But missioned from the Throne above,
Awakes his soul, unveils his eyes,
Revealing all the wealth of love:
Care for the wife, the child, the home,
Puts self aside, and purifies
The mists and vapours that had come
To cloud his early Paradise:
Some sordid thoughts may yet rebel,
But he has his “IMMANUEL!”
Yet must be bravely still contend
With mortal care, perchance with grief,
The loss of earthly love may end
The dream so pleasing, yet so brief,
And failing strength, and slow decay,
May test his spiritual power.
The light must fade at close of day,
And clouds will mar the evening hour;
Oh! may no darkest depths dispel
The light of his “IMMANUEL!”
And now, the giddy whirlwind o’er,
He floats into the calm of sleep,
And from a fast receding shore
Is wafted o’er the mighty deep:
Again his infant Paradise
Looms over transient doubts and fears,
Again he meets a mother’s eyes,
Again her jubilee he hears:
It mingles with the passing bell,
“IMMANUEL! IMMANUEL!”
(Emily Mary Barton)
More Poetry from Emily Mary Barton:
Emily Mary Barton Poems based on Topics: Love, Light, Joy & Excitement, Soul, Mind, Success, Home, Angels, Mothers, Sleep, Dreams- 'The Defence Of Rorke's Drift': A Reverie In The Art Gallery (Emily Mary Barton Poems)
- Earth (Emily Mary Barton Poems)
- Lines Addressed To Sir Alfred Stephen On His 90th Birthday (Emily Mary Barton Poems)
- Manifestations "God Manifests Himself in Many Ways." (Emily Mary Barton Poems)
- 'Pen" - 60th Birthday (Emily Mary Barton Poems)
- Convalescence (Emily Mary Barton Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Love Poems, Light Poems, Mind Poems, Soul Poems, Joy & Excitement Poems, Dreams Poems, Kings & Queens Poems, Home Poems, Sleep Poems, Fear Poems, Success PoemsBased on Keywords: unveils, purifies, immanuel, missioned