Classic Poem

Green , — but far greener is the Faith
That gives us victory over death;
The waving woods of May,
The meadows and the plain,
This deathless hue display,
Dispelling winter's reign;
And grateful to the eye,
And charming to the soul,
Is that rich, grassy canopy
That covers plain and knoll;
But greener is the hue of Faith ,
That gives us victory over death.

Fragrant , — more fragrant far the H OPE
That buoys the dying spirit up;
This branch gave sweet perfume
When from the Acacia rent,
O'erhanging Mason's tomb,
Its balsam tears were spent;
No flowers bloom from the field,
No spices from the East,
An odorous breath like this can yield,
That in the grave we cast;
But far more fragrant is the H OPE
That buoys the dying spirit up.

Enduring , — but the C HARITY
That Masons feel can never die;
Faith may be lost in sight,
Hope in fruition ends,
And in Celestial light
We meet departed friends;
This mystic branch survives
The tooth and touch of time,
And till the Resurrection lives
An emblem all sublime;
But yet more lasting C HARITY
That Masons feel, 'twill never die.

Faithful we cast the Acacia now,
Hopeful above our Brother bow;
And when the dead shall rise,
And emblems lose their power, —
And we within the skies
Shall view their forms no more, —
Blest Charity shall join
Our hands in endless chain,
And, glowing with the Love Divine,
Eternal shall remain.
Then faithful cast the Acacia now,
And hopeful o'er the parted bow.