Classic Poem

Written off Charleston Light at evening.

BY B. B. THATCHER .

Over winds and waves, far out
From the shadows of the shore,
I see the mariner's beacon
Its silvery splendor pour.

And sweeter is the sight
Than all the wealth, untold,
That o'er the Orman grottoes,
Breaks forth in blazing gold.

Yet, built on earth's low strand,
That light may only show,
Where the fields of time are greenest,
And its blooms the fairest blow.

O dearer and diviner flame!
O changeless, changeless star!
Thou mind'st me of the one that shone
O'er the magi's wandering far.

Oh! shine for me, ye starry hopes, —
Immortal hopes in Him!
Ye are holier, and ye give more light,
As the mortal grow more dim.