John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–1892). The Poetical Works in Four Volumes. 1892.
Poems by Elizabeth H. WhittierDr. Kane in Cuba
A
A sacred trust to thee is given;
Bright Island! let thy healing air
Be to him as the breath of Heaven.
The self-forgetting leader bold—
Stirs, like the trumpet’s call to strife,
A million hearts of meaner mould.
Look dim with tears across the sea,
Where from the dark and icy zone,
Sweet Isle of Flowers! he comes to thee.
Give back his wasted strength again;
Soothe, with thy endless summer time,
His winter-wearied heart and brain.
From out the fragrant, flowery tree,—
The ear that hears thee now has heard
The ice-break of the winter sea.
He saw the Bear in Northern skies;
Now, to the Southern Cross of light
He lifts in hope his weary eyes.
When the dark North no answer gave,
Rise, trembling, to the Father’s ear,
That still His love may help and save.