The Poet's Departed Shades - A poem by John Preston Campbell

The Poet's Departed Shades.

The poet's departed shades,
When evening's twilight fades,
Sometimes waft us here
Light from the celestial atmosphere,
Filling the homes and haunts of men
With their silent muse again.

At such recurring times,
When the harp of nature chimes,
Come glimpses of a better land
And a more friendly strand,
Brightly streaming o'er
The rolling waters drear
From the poets' words of cheer.

Those gifted bards sublime
Have left their foot prints
"On the sands of time,"
That some discouraged swain,
Soul-sick and drooping
May take heart again,
And bravely buffeting life's ills

Upon its angry main;
Part the water's spray
With more than mortal vigil,
And gain the gates of day
Beyond the harbor eternal,
Where beacon lights supernal
Gleam with a golden ray
All bright and clear,
Through the soft, celestial atmosphere.

^__John Preston Canpell.

Poetical Works
John Preston Campbell
(Topeka: Geo. W. Crane & Company. 1885)
Pages 121-122