"I am not one who was born in the custody of wisdom. I am one who is fond of olden times and intense in quest of the sacred knowing of the ancients." Gustave Courbet

28 February 2018

Joy.

Grimshaw, Roundhay Lake, Leeds, 1893


IN MEMORY of a HAPPY DAY in FEBRUARY

Blessed be Thou for all the joy
 My soul has felt today!
O let its memory stay with me
 And never pass away!

I was alone, for those I loved
 Were far away from me,
The sun shone on the withered grass,
 The wind blew fresh and free.

Was it the smile of early spring
 That made my bosom glow?
'Twas sweet, but neither sun nor wind
 Could raise my spirit so.

Was it some feeling of delight,
 All vague and undefined?
No, 'twas a rapture deep and strong,
 Expanding in the mind!

Was it a sanguine view of life
 And all its transient bliss–
A hope of bright prosperity?
 O no, it was not this!

It was a glimpse of truth divine
 Unto my spirit given
Illumined by a ray of light
 That shone direct from heaven!

I felt there was a God on high
 By whom all things were made.
I saw His wisdom and his power
 In all his works displayed.

But most throughout the moral world
 I saw his glory shine;
I saw His wisdom infinite,
 His mercy all divine.

Deep secrets of his providence
 In darkness long concealed
Unto the vision of my soul
 Were graciously revealed.

But while I wondered and adored
 His wisdom so divine,
I did not tremble at his power,
 I felt that God was mine.

I knew that my Redeemer lived,
 I did not fear to die;
Full sure that I should rise again
 To immortality.

I longed to view that bliss divine
 Which eye hath never seen,
Like Moses, I would see His face
Without the veil between.

Anne Brontë

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