SON-DAYS.
by Henry Vaughan


I.
BRIGHT shadows of true rest ! some shoots of bliss ;
                                      Heaven once a week ;
The next world's gladness preposses'd in this ;
                                      A day to seek
Eternity in time ; the steps by which
    We climb above all ages ; lamps that light
Man through his heap of dark days ; and the rich
    And full redemption of the whole week's flight !

2.
The pulleys unto headlong man ; Time's bower ;
                                      The narrow way ;
Transplanted Paradise ; God's walking hour,
                                      The cool o' th' day !
The creature's jubilee ; God's parle with dust ;
    Heaven here ; man on those hills of myrrh, and flowers ;
Angels descending ; the returns of trust ;
    A gleam of glory after six-days-showers !

3.
The Church's love-feasts ; Time's prerogative,
                                      And interest
Deducted from the whole ; the combs, and hive,
                                      And home of rest.
The milky way chalk'd out with suns ; a clue
    That guides through erring hours ; and in full story
A taste of heav'n on earth ; the pledge and cue
    Of a full feast ; and the out-Courts of glory.



Source:
Vaughan, Henry. The Poems of Henry Vaughan, Silurist. vol I.
E. K. Chambers, Ed. London, Lawrence & Bullen Ltd., 1896. 114-115.



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