A series by Clyde Wilson
Thomas Holley Chivers (1809—1858) of Georgia was a physician and poet and a friend of Edgar Allan Poe, who encouraged him. He published over 10 volumes of poetry and plays but was largely forgotten until rediscovered by 20th century critics. Chivers believed that good poetry was a result of “divine inspiration.”
Faith
Faith is the flower that blooms unseen
By mountains of immortal green—
A hoped-for harvest in the skies,
In which the reaper never dies—
A tree to which the power is given
To lift its branches into heaven;
And from whose boughs of gorgeous fruit
A loftier tree shall take its root.
Lord! we are grafted into thine,
When broken off from Adam’s vine;
And so, from that degenerate tree,
We grow into the life of thee!
For, by the prunings of thy word,
Are we then purged into the Lord;
And like Mount Zion we shall stand
The Temples of our native land.
Lord! if the stars should take their flight,
And vanish from the halls of night;
And if the morning should appear,
And vanish from the evening near;
And if the rivers should run dry,
And every flower that decks them die;
And if the world should cease to be—
I would not lose my trust in thee.
*
The Voice of Thought
Faint as the far-down tone
Beneath the sounding sea,
Muffled, by its own moan,
To silent melody;
So faint we cannot tell
But that the sound we hear
Is some sweet roses’ smell
That falls upon our ear;
(As if the Butterfly
Shaking the Lily-bell,
While drinking joyfully,
Should toll its own death-knell!)
Sweeter than Hope’s sweet lute
Singing of joys to be,
When Pain’s harsh voice is mute,
Is the Soul’s sweet song to me.
