Finis Coronat Opus

Rest, when weary thoughts abound And fog the mind with clam’rous sound To drown out dreams of peace and calm That bring the soul a healing balm: Rest, when lonely is the heart, And aimless ‘mid displays of arts That catch the eye and whet the tongue, But leave one stranded, far from home: Rest, when body weary grows, And seeks to mend its pains and woes; Such respite is a mighty aid To heal a soul in Light remade.

The world has changed, and those who lived Before, and mem’ry have Of times gone by and lost, now sit With pensive faces clad. The world has changed, and now there walk Young souls, who know not how  The land had wept, and time had stopped, And pain marked every brow. The world has changed; it matters great, For lives it touches still, And if past deeds grow ever faint, Then honor also will. The world has changed, and on it turns, As ages past have done; But let not generations spurn The mem’ries ‘neath the sun.

Naught stirs the heart to swell with pride, Or bids the coward, “Come and fight, And seize your fortune, e’er the day  Is gone, your hope to speed away”, As words with pointed meaning fierce, And music haunting on the ears. For words a hist’ry ancient tell, Of bravest deeds, of twisted spell; And melodies of old bear still The magic of the trees and rills; So fill they souls with beauty great Through cent’ries long, and kingdoms’ fates.