AUTUMN SUNSET – by Henry David Thoreau
“The sun sets on some retired meadow, where no house
is visible, with all the glory and splendour that it lavished on cities, and,
perchance, as it has never set before—where there is but a solitary marsh-hawk
to have his wings gilded by it, or only a musquash looks out from his cabin,
and there is some little black-veined brook in the midst of the marsh, just
beginning to meander, winding slowly round a decaying stump. We walked in so
pure and bright a light, gilding the withered grass and leaves, so softly and
serenely bright, I thought I had never bathed in such a golden flood, without a
ripple or a murmur to it. The west side of every wood and rising ground gleamed
like a boundary of Elysium, and the sun on our backs seemed like a gentle
herdsman driving us home at evening.
“So we
saunter toward the Holy Land, till one day the sun shall shine more brightly
than ever he has done, shall perchance shine into our minds and hearts, and
light up our whole lives with a great awakening light, as warm and serene and
golden as on a bank-side in autumn.”
A
PRAYER – by Max Ehrmann
“Let
me do my work each day; and if the darkened hours of despair overcome me, may I
not forget the strength that comforted me in the desolation of other times.
“May I
still remember the bright hours that found me walking over the silent hills of
my childhood, or dreaming on the margin of the quiet river, when a light glowed
within me, and I promised my early God to have courage amid the tempests of the
changing years. Spare me from bitterness and from the sharp passions of
unguarded moments. May I not forget that poverty and riches are of the spirit.
Though the world know me not, may my thoughts and actions be such as shall keep
me friendly with myself.
“Lift
my eyes from the earth, and let me not forget the uses of the stars. Forbid
that I should judge others lest I condemn myself. Let me not follow the clamor
of the world, but walk calmly in my path.
“Give
me a few friends who will love me for what I am; and keep ever burning before
my vagrant steps the kindly light of hope. And though age and infirmity
overtake me, and I come not within sight of the castle of my dreams, teach me
still to be thankful for life, and for time’s olden memories that are good and
sweet; and may the evening’s twilight find me gentle still.”
--from
One Thousand Beautiful Things, compiled by Marjorie Barrows, published
in 1947 for Peoples Book Club, INC. Chicago
My wish is that
you and yours enjoyed a day of thanks, family, food, friends, freedom and all
other blessings which these readings might have evoked. -- PL
1 comment:
Beautiful. I read passages like this and think, "What business do I have trying to write?" I know, don't compare...
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