Benedicite

God's love and peace be with thee, where     Soe'er this soft autumnal air     Lifts the dark tresses of thy hair.     Whether through city casements comes     Its kiss to thee, in crowded rooms,     Or, out among the woodland blooms,     It freshens o'er thy thoughtful face,     Imparting, in its glad embrace,     Beauty to beauty, grace to grace!     Fair Nature's book together read,     The old wood-paths that knew our tread,     The maple shadows overhead,     The hills we climbed, the river seen     By gleams along its deep ravine,     All keep thy memory fresh and green.     Where'er I look, where'er I stray,     Thy thought goes with me on my way,     And hence the prayer I breathe to-day;     O'er lapse of time and change of scene,     The weary waste which lies between     Thyself and me, my heart I lean.     Thou lack'st not Friendship's spell-word, nor     The half-unconscious power to draw     All hearts to thine by Love's sweet law.     With these good gifts of God is cast     Thy lot, and many a charm thou hast     To hold the blessed angels fast.     If, then, a fervent wish for thee     The gracious heavens will heed from me,     What should, dear heart, its burden be?     The sighing of a shaken reed,     What can I more than meekly plead     The greatness of our common need?     God's love, unchanging, pure, and true,     The Paraclete white-shining through     His peace, the fall of Hermon's dew!     With such a prayer, on this sweet day,     As thou mayst hear and I may say,     I greet thee, dearest, far away