Unidentified photographer / artist
1867
On Receiving My Brother's Carte De Visite

Book page, poem
Google Books
Published in "Echoes of Heart Whispers" by Esther Charlotte Anne Allen (Manchester: John Heywood, London: Simpkin, Marchall & Co, 1867), p.145-146
 
MARVELLOUS power, and wondrous art,
Thus to give to the eye and the heart
The life-like image and faithful trace
Of the long-lost form and the long-loved face.
 
Though years of change and untiring time,
And the ocean wave and the far-off clime,
Have hidden thee from me as once thou wert,
Yet here I behold thee as now thou art.
 
Time, my brother, hath touched thy brow,
And an anxious look it weareth now;
He hath shaken his wing o'er thy glossy hair,
And silvery glory is gathering there.
 
And many a dream of thy youth is fled,
And many a cherished hope is dead;
And many a friend of the distant yore
Thou shalt see and greet on earth no more.
 
But cheer, my brother; with trust in Heaven,
Grasp the bright hopes to thee yet given;
Though not so dazzling, yet far more true,
Than the pictures imagination drew.
 
Rest on thy God thy troubled soul;
Yield to thy Saviour's sweet control;
Seek but His will His glory His grace
Trust where blind Nature fails to trace.
 
Lean not to earth 'tis a broken reed !
Labour in faith God give thee speed !
Be Jesus thy constant, present Friend,
All shall be well in the glorious end.
 
LL/34446