Little Gems

I have a little book in my library and I can't remember how I came to possess it. It's been around a while and is in excellent shape for having a copyright of 1896 and a cover inscription dated 1912.  It has a small quilted cushioned cover and is titled, "Whittier".  It is the early poems of John Greenleaf Whittier.  Most of his works are long but have very engaging titles including "The Christian Slave", "The New Wife and The Old" and "Song of the Free".

I did find a small poem to share written in 1846:

FORGIVENESS

My heart is heavy, for its trust had been
Abused, its kindness answered with foul wrong;
So, turning gloomily from my fellow-men,
One summer Sabbath day I strolled among
The green mounds of the village burial place;
Where, pondering how all human love and hate
Find one sad level----and how soon or late,
Pass the green threshold of our common grave,
Whither all footsteps tend, when none depart,
Awed for myself, and pitying my race,
Our common sorrow, like a mighty wave,
Swept all my pride away, and trembling I forgave!