Questioner to Ancient Israel:
By Mabel Craker
Courage Brother! Home Is Nearing!
Questioner to Ancient Israel:
Captives from the Holy City—
Fair Jerusalem of old—
Why that look of sad desertion,
Why so faithless?—Once so bold. Nestled by that lonely river,
Harps of gold on willows hung;
Hear we no sweet praise ascending,
Why your lips so strangely dumb? Beauty now surrounds your dwellings,
Pomp and grandeur one beholds;
Why not in its foreign revel
Feed your faint, desponding souls? Ye, the peer of Bab'lon's nobles,
Kingly honors oft receive.
In the richest of the kingdoms
How can you so keenly grieve? You of music know its sweetness,
Lips and fingers wisely trained
Why when asked for songs of Zion,
Wailings crush the old refrain? Ask us not why fall the tear-drops,
Why our hearts by grief are wrung.
Strains that nobles style a paean
Are to us but requiem tones— For we're strangers now, and pilgrims,
Far from home and native shore.
Think you that, heart-sick and weary,
We can sing of wand'rings o'er? Let us not, to-day, dear comrade,
Lose our courage, and our song.
Let us praise with songs of triumph,
Tho we painfully march on. For we're journeying not, dear brother,
Captives to a foreign land;
We are nearing home! Take courage!
Soon our pilgrimage will end!