Virna Sheard

“ A little lad, with Egypt's eyes—but hair like golden flame.
"Thou has been long, Beloved!" she cried, and frowned all tenderly,
"Indeed I have not seen thee since the burning noon took wing."
"Mother of mine," he answered, "I have been where I should be
These burdened times of Egypt—beside my Lord the King.
"'Twill take the country many days to gain its old time peace,
But thou shalt suffer nothing;—I, myself, will care for thee
And see that naught doth harm thee—until all these troubles cease;—
These sad and magic doings that no man can solve," said he.
"Ay! That thou wilt," she said. ”

“ Left a great path, and down the path there shone
The Light of all the world.
The Light from whose mysterious golden depths
The Sun rose in his might—
The light from whose white, hidden fires were lit
The torches of the night;
The Light that shining on a thing of clay
Giveth it Life and Will:
The Light that with an unknown power can blast
And bid all life be still;
The Light that calls a ray of its own light
A man's undying soul—
The Light that lifts the broken lives of earth,
Touches and makes them whole. ”

“ A SONG OF LOVE Love reckons not by time—its May days of delight
Are swifter than the falling stars that pass beyond our sight.
Love reckons not by time—its moments of despair
Are years that march like prisoners, who drag the chains they wear.
Love counts not by the sun—it hath no night or day—
'Tis only light when love is near—'tis dark with love away. ”

“ For Time he counts not as his foe,
Nor Death his enemy.
A SONG Love maketh its own summer time,
'Tis June, Love, when we are together,
And little I care for the frost in the air,
For the heart makes its own summer weather.
Love maketh its own winter time,
And though the hills blossom with heather,
If you are not near, 'tis December, my dear,
For the heart makes its own winter weather. ”

“ On did he ride to Goshen, and he called "Arise! Arise!
Thou leader of the Israelites, 'tis I who bid you go!
Take thou these people hence, before the sun hath lit the skies;—
Get thee beyond the border of this land of death and woe!"
Across the plains of Egypt through the shadows of the night
Came the sound as of an army moving onward steadily,
And their leader read his way by the stars' eternal light
While all the legions followed on their journey to the sea. ”

“ A SONG OF SUMMER DAYS As pearls slip off a silken string and fall into the sea,
These rounded summer days fall back into eternity.
Into the deep from whence they came; into the mystery—
At set of sun each one slips back as pearls into the sea.
They are so sweet—so warm and sweet—Love fain would hold them fast:
He weeps when through his finger tips they slip away at last.
AT THE PLAY Just above the boxes and where the high lights fall
Looketh down a carven face from out the gilded wall. ”

“ Is wine against thy lips—and all her weeds
Are in thine eyes as flowers. She is fair
In all her moods to thee—and even there,
See! thou dost dream of her above thy beads.
"Rouse thee from out thy dreams! Awake! Awake!
Thou priest who cometh of a martial line!—
Thou hast its strength, thy will no man can break:
Go forth unarmed, the law of love to take
Into a lonely land, that yet is Mine." ”

“ The moon that shineth overhead once saw these mysteries—
And then the world was young, that hath these many years been old;
If Egypt drank her bitter cup down even to the lees
Who careth now? 'Tis but an ancient tale that hath been told.
Yet still we hear the footsteps—as he goeth to and fro—
Of Azrael, the Angel, that the Lord God sent below,
To Egypt—long ago.
A SONG OF POPPIES I love red poppies! Imperial red poppies!
Sun-worshippers are they;
Gladly as trees live through a hundred summers
They live one little day.
I love red poppies! Impassioned scarlet poppies! ”

“ Peace to the world and its woe—
For a space with Thy joyous lesser things,
Teach me the faith I would know.
A LOVE SONG Oh haste, my Sweet! Impatient now I wait,
The crescent moon swings low, it groweth late,
A night bird sings, of Life, and Love, and Fate!
Oh haste, my Sweet! Youth and its gladness goes,
Joy hath one summer time, like to the rose,
Love only lives through all the winter snows. ”

“ A SONG OF ROSES 'Tis time to sing of roses: of roses all ablow,
To every vagrant passing breeze they dip a courtesy low,
'Tis time to sing of roses! for June is here, you know.
One song for true love's roses of sweetest deepest red,
Some heart will wear you faithfully when life itself hath fled,
And for the white rose sing a song—the white rose for the dead. ”

“ And sing his song in my heart.
And I will live with Delight!
I will know what the children know
When they dance along with the April wind
To find where the catkins grow!
I will dream the old, old dreams,
And look for pixie and fay
In shadowy woods—and out on the hills—
As we did but yesterday.
Love I will keep in my soul—
Ay! even by lock and key!
There is nothing to fear in all of the world
If Love will but stay with me. ”

“ For some great love with faithfulness unfailing
Will light the stars to bear him company.
Out in the silence of the mountain passes,
The heart makes peace and liberty its own—
The wind that blows across the scented grasses
Bringing the balm of sleep—comes not alone.
Beneath the vast illimitable spaces
Where God has set His jewels in array,
A man may pitch his tent in desert places
Yet know that heaven is not so far away. ”

“ And gone for thee the silver moon,
And golden noon-day sun;
Yet sad old year—and glad old year—
We'll know no better one.
THE SEA-SHELL Oh, fairy palace of pink and pearl
Frescoed with filigree silver-white,
Down in the silence beneath the sea
God by Himself must have fashioned thee
Just for His own delight!
But no!—For a dumb and shapeless thing
Stirring in darkness its little hour,
Thy walls were built with infinite care,
Thou sea-scented home, so fine and fair,
Perfect—and like a flower! ”

“ Till they seem but mocking phantoms, we watch unmoved and cold."
"Thou wilt not let the Hebrews go—I read it in thine eyes—
There are no gods in Egypt—there is nothing but thy Will—
That sets itself against some force that yet in Strength will rise
But to silence all thine answers and bid thy voice be still."
Then Pharaoh leaned down toward her: "0 most beautiful!" he said,
"There is not a man who liveth dare say so to my face;
And truly were there such a one 'twere better he were dead,
For dead men suffer nothing.—Yet I pray thee of thy grace
"Have patience now to hear me. ”

“ With him I love within the tower throughout this fateful night."
"And if the Angel cometh through the walls of stone and brass—
And if he toucheth Egypt's son, to seal his gentle breath,
Then will we know that God is God, He who hath right to pass
Our little doors, for He Himself is Lord of Life and Death." ”

“ Sealed in the souls of the dumb.
All of the past that we wearily sigh for,
All of the future for which our hearts long,
All Love would live for, and all Love would die for
Wordless, you weave in a song. ”

“ I love red poppies! Red, silken, swaying poppies!
Deep in their hearts they keep
A magic cure for woe—a draught of Lethe—
A lotus-gift of sleep.
I love red poppies! Soft silver-stemmed, red poppies,
That from the rain and sun
Gather a balm to heal some earth-born sorrow,
When their glad day is done. ”

“ Well I fear me I have been but an idler in the sun—
All unfinished are the tasks long and long ago begun—
In the dark perchance they weep, who have left their work undone.
And I know each black-frocked friar preacheth sermons that, alas!
Fain would halt the dancing feet of those careless ones who pass
Down a sweet and primrose path, through the ribbons of the grass. ”

“ Then came the pirate locusts, with a sea-song free and bold;—
The spent and broken people lacked the strength to force them back,
But watched them take the last green blades that never would be gold—
And shut their doors against the foe that turned the meadows black.
Then Pharaoh wavered—more—he called the Hebrews in his haste
Imploring respite—pleading his repentance bitterly—
For there was death on every side, and all the land was waste;—
So the western wind of God blew the locusts out to sea.
Yet not enough. Once more the king denied his given word ”

“ One small hand curled above her eyes, and one above her heart,
But when the ruby afterglow crept up and stained the sand
She turned and gazed toward Goshen, where Israel dwelt apart.
* * * * *
Nine plagues had wasted Egypt with their tortures grim and slow;
The earth was desolated, and scarred by hail and fire;
Still even yet her Lord refused to let his bondsmen go
To worship in the wilderness, the God of their desire. ”

“ And here and there—both at night and at morn—
A lonely robin still sings.
A spice-laden breeze of the south is blent
With perfumed winds from the Orient
And they weave o'er her a spell,
For nun-like she goeth now, still and sweet—
And while mists like incense curl at her feet,
She lingers her beads to tell.
NOCTURNE Infold us with thy peace, dear moon-lit night,
And let thy silver silence wrap us round
Till we forget the city's dazzling light,
The city's ceaseless sound. ”

“ Where armies could not enter—can one angel pass alone?
"Thinkst thou that I am one to be affrighted by the dark?
A weakling to be played upon—a coward or a fool?
Nay!—I defy the Israelites!—Their weapons miss their mark,
They have roused my utmost anger: it taketh long to cool.
"But thou!" he said; "but thou! Methinks had they but threatened thee
I should perchance have known the very quality of fear;—
Thou thing of perfect loveliness! Content mine eyes will be
Though in the land of Egypt is no blossom for a year. ”

“ It was at daybreak that they heard the cry:
"The Iroquois!—The Iroquois! They come!
Fly to the hidden forest places! Fly!—
To linger in the village is to die—
Steal through the river grasses—and be dumb!" ”

“ The king sat still as Fate. "Most High," she said, "I come for truth
Of this new threat of vengeance. There is horror in the air;—
The Ethiopian runner hath brought word to me in sooth
Blood is sprinkled on the door-posts of the Hebrews everywhere!"
"There are rumours—so he sayeth—of an Angel who will slay
The first-born sons of Egypt—should these bondsmen not depart.
Thy people weep in anguish—I myself must hear thee say—
The Hebrew leader threatens no such danger to my heart—
"He is my heart—my inner heart;—0 straight he is and strong! ”

“ Oft crossed the fields at home where daisies grew."
THE VISION Long had she knelt at the Madonna's shrine,
With the empty chapel, cold and grey,
Telling her beads, while grief with marring line
And bitter tear stole all her youth away.
Outcast was she from what Life holdeth dear;
Banished from joy that other souls might win;
And from the dark beyond she turned with fear,
Being so branded by the mark of sin. ”

“ Thy feet have found the path that Shakespeare found,
Life's lonely exit of such far renown;
For thee, 0 dear interpreter of dreams,
The curtain hath rung down.
October, 1905.
JEAN DE BREBOEUF Jean de Breboeuf, a priest of the Jesuit Order, came to Canada as a missionary to the Indians about the year 1625. He belonged to an old and honourable French family that had given many sons to the army, and was a man of great physical strength, one who possessed an iron will, that was yet combined with sweetness and gentleness of temper. ”