Tabb’s Poetry II
Faith
In every seed to breathe the flower,
In every drop of dew
To reverence a cloistered star
Within the distant blue;
To wait the promise of the bow,
Despite the cloud between,
Is Faith—the fervid evidence
Of loveliness unseen.
Influence
He cannot as he came depart—
The Wind that woos the Rose;
Her fragrance whispers in his heart
Wherever hence he goes.
All in All
We know Thee, each in part—
A portion small;
But love Thee, as Thou art—
The All in all:
For Reason and the rays thereof
Are starlight to the noon of Love.
Bartimeus to the Bird
Had I no revelation but thy voice—
No word but thine—
Still would my soul in certitude rejoice
That love divine
Thy heart, his hidden instrument, employs,
To waken mine.
My Portion
I know not what a day may bring;
For now ’tis Sorrow that I sing,
And now ’tis Joy.
In both a Father’s hand I see;
For one renews the Man in me,
And one the Boy.
For a recitation, click the play button:
“Faith”: Later Lyrics, p. 100, Poetry, p. 222. August 1895. Cloistered: enclosed or sequestered; a cloister is a place of religious seclusion, especially a convent or monastery, or some enclosed area in either.
“Influence”: Later Lyrics, p. 62; Poetry, p. 328. November 1897.
“All in All”: Later Lyrics, p. 106; Poetry, p. 221. December 1897.
“Bartimeus to the Bird”: Later Lyrics, p. 89; Poetry, p. 42. November 1898. Bartimeus: Greek, son of Timeus; timeus means perfect, admirable, honorable; it is the name of the blind beggar in the Gospel story related in Mark 10:46-52.
“My Portion”: Later Poems, p. 34; Poetry, p. 146. September 1909. This is one of Father Tabb’s last poems.
