Our visions are deceiving lights that lead us on to our destruction; our
idols are always broken in pieces before our eyes.-
~Lady C. Bury.
Oh! heed not those beams, though awhile they illumine,
And shed o’er thy soul the repose of the blest;
They gleam but to leave thee mid night’s darkness glooming,
And only deceive thee and mock thy unrest.
Too long have I gazed o’er false visions, foretelling
Of joy and of happiness ne’er to be mine;
Too long-oh! too long-has this lone breast been dwelling
O’er bright dreams, alas! which destroy as they shine!
Our idols, what are they?-that thus they should linger
And cling round our hearts mid disease and decay:
All earthly-they die-touched by Time’s leaden finger,
And leave us to weep o’er the close of life’s day.
And yet how we love them, and wreathe them with beauty,
While the sunlight of day is in its first prime;
And e’en in maturity, heedless of duty,
We loiter-we worship-we turn to their shrine.
And many a prayer, from the full heart ascending,
Is caught from Heaven’s throne by some loved ones on earth;
While devotion’s warm flame, a bright halo lending,
In death haunts the idols which fostered its birth!
(Edward Henry Bickersteth)
More Poetry from Edward Henry Bickersteth:
Edward Henry Bickersteth Poems based on Topics: Love, Life, Joy & Excitement, Beauty, Death & Dying, Happiness, Prayers, Dreams, Birth, Maturity, Duty- Yesterday, To-day, and For Ever: Book X. - The Millennial Sabbath (Edward Henry Bickersteth Poems)
- Yesterday, To-day, and For Ever: Book XII. - The Many Mansions (Edward Henry Bickersteth Poems)
- Pompeii (Edward Henry Bickersteth Poems)
- Ode (Edward Henry Bickersteth Poems)
- December (Edward Henry Bickersteth Poems)
- The Sabbath. - from Yesterday, To-day and For Ever (Edward Henry Bickersteth Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Love Poems, Life Poems, Death & Dying Poems, Joy & Excitement Poems, Dreams Poems, Beauty Poems, Happiness Poems, Prayers Poems, Birth Poems, Duty Poems, Maturity PoemsBased on Keywords: glooming, fostered, deceiving, worship-we, long-oh