Vain folly of another age, <br />This wandering over earth, <br />To find the peace by some dark sin <br />Banish'd our household hearth. <br /> <br />On Lebanon the dark green pines <br />Wave over sacred ground, <br />And Carmel's consecrated rose <br />Springs from a hallow'd mound. <br /> <br />Glorious the truth they testify, <br />And blessed is their name; <br />But even in such a sacred spot, <br />Are sin and woe the same. <br /> <br />O pilgrim! with each toilsome step, <br />Vain every weary day; <br />There is no charm in soil or shrine, <br />To wash thy guilt away. <br /> <br />Return, with prayer and tear, return <br />To those who weep at home; <br />To dry their tears will more avail, <br />Than o'er a world to roam. <br /> <br />There's hope for one who leaves with shame, <br />The guilt that lured before; <br />Remember, He who said, 'Repent,' <br />Said also, 'Sin no more.' <br /> <br />Return, and in thy daily round <br />Of duty and of love, <br />Thou best wilt find that patient faith <br />Which lifts the soul above. <br /> <br />In ev'ry innocent prayer, each child <br />Lisps at his father's knee: - <br />If thine has been to teach that prayer, <br />There will be hope for thee. <br /> <br />There is a small white church, that stands <br />Beside thy father's grave, <br />There kneel and pour those earnest prayers, <br />That sanctify and save. <br /> <br />Around thee draw thine own home-ties, <br />And, with a chasten'd mind, <br />In meek well-doing seek that peace, <br />No wandering will find. <br /> <br />In charity and penitence, <br />Thy sin will be forgiven: - <br />Pilgrim, the heart is the true shrine, <br />Whence prayers ascend to Heaven.<br /><br />Letitia Elizabeth Landon<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-pilgrim-3/
