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Muse and Mint

Chapter 64: THE ALTAR OF COUNTRY
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About This Book

A varied collection of short lyrical poems that observes nature and rural life, using seasonal imagery—sap, snow, rivers, cherries—and simple domestic scenes to reflect on change, beauty, and small joys. Sections shift between fireside recollections, sentimental and philosophical meditations, homiletic and religious pieces, and light humor, blending devotional songlike verses with moral aphorisms and affectionate memory. The voice moves between wistful and buoyant moods, finding consolation and ethical insight in commonplace experiences, while concise stanzas and vivid images emphasize mood and moral reflection rather than a continuous narrative.

THE ALTAR OF COUNTRY

O Country of my altar,
Where the incense flame doth burn
And a priestly hand doth part the Temple-veil—
Let me ne’er in purpose falter,
Let me never from thee turn
Nor the vision of the holy ever fail—
O my country, till I learn
How to purpose not to palter,
Let the vision of the holy never pale!
O altar of my Country,
Sealed with bloody sacrifice,
Yet glorious with living triumph, too,
May I nobly offer on thee
Duty’s most devoted price,
Never doubting it to be thy sacred due!
From thy altar let me rise
All to offer, O my country,
That I treasure most supreme and true!

(FromGreatheart.”)