Samuel Kettell, ed. Specimens of American Poetry. 1829.
By The Light of HomeSarah J. Hale (17881879)
M
And thy spirit will sigh to roam,
And thou must go;—but never when there,
Forget the light of home.
It dazzles to lead astray:
Like the meteor’s flash ’t will deepen the night,
When thou treadest the lonely way.
And pure as vestal fire:
’T will burn, ’t will burn, for ever the same,
For nature feeds the pyre.
And thy hopes may vanish like foam;
But when sails are shiver’d and rudder lost,
Then look to the light of home.
Thou shalt see the beacon bright,
For never, till shining on thy shroud,
Can be quench’d its holy light.
But the heart ne’er felt its ray;
And fashion’s smiles, that rich ones claim,
Are but beams of a wintry day.
Should life’s wretched wanderer come!
But my boy, when the world is dark to thee,
Then turn to the light of home.