UTILITY.
He who fashioned me for ornament and use,
To please the eye and to impart the time,
Foreshadowed, too, a possible disuse,
And fearing this inscribed on me a rhyme.
Though forgotten for a season,
Since I mark but hours of sun;
Still, I’ve value for this reason—
I lend grace for years to come.
THE MOON AND THE DIAL.
I.
The moon peeped out on a cloudy night,
And shone on an old stone wall;
It lit up the face of the dial bright
That stood to the view of all.
II.
A traveller blessed its silvery beams
That guided him on his way,
And called with laughter, Faith, it seems
You’re worth all the light of day!
III.
His eye detected the sundial’s rhyme,
And he read the writing clear:
I work for the sun alone through time,
For his light rules only here.
IV.
Continue your work, the traveller said;
But, still, I would have you know
That working for moon when sun has fled
A greater power would show.
V.
He who made your dial and penned yon verse
Could never to sea have been,
Or felt the force of a sailor’s curse
When no star or moon were seen.
VI.
He could not have heard the blessings given
On a sky as bright as day,
Or known beside sun’s light in heaven
The value of moonshine ray.
VII.
Doubtless he was not able to plan
A dial to do for two;
But surely the most untutored man
A better verse could do.
T. G. W. H.