John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–1892). The Poetical Works in Four Volumes. 1892.
Occasional PoemsHymn for the House of Worship at Georgetown, erected in Memory of a Mother
T
In temples which thy children raise;
Our work to thine is mean and small,
And brief to thy eternal days.
If marred thereby our gift may be,
For love, at least, has sanctified
The altar that we rear to thee.
From sunken base to tower above
The image of a tender thought,
The memory of a deathless love!
Or organ echo from its wall,
Its stones would pious lessons teach,
Its shade in benedictions fall.
And blessings and not curses given;
Nor strife profane, nor hatred wound,
The mingled loves of earth and heaven.
The dear one watching by Thy cross,
Forgetful of the pains of death
In sorrow for her mighty loss,
O Mother-born, the offering take,
And make it worthy of Thy name,
And bless it for a mother’s sake!