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The
Circle of Affection and Other Pieces in Prose and Verse
by
Duncan Campbell Scott
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Ode
on the Centenary of
FLORENCE
NIGHTINGALE
May
1920
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SPIRIT
OF TENDERNESS, throned where you dwell,
Bring Hope and Mercy from their starry places,
Compassion with her touch ineffable,
And all the gentle group of kindred graces
To flood this day with joy,
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To crown
this name
With halo of pure flame.
See the frail, lovely lady with the lamp,
Flitting about the cots, through the dim spaces,
Where, sheltered from the piercing frost and damp,
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The
soldiers lie with worn, untroubled faces!
They see her light shine on,
Her shadow fall
With healing over all.
A deep heart, and a mighty storm-like will,
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To clear
the air of gloom and wavering visions,
Resolved on pity, determined to fulfil
To the bright last the least of her decisions!
And now her steady light,
The shadows furled,
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| Floods
the whole world.
Wherever anguish breaks the human nerve,
And pain cries out from ward or home or camp,
Where the trained watcher comes to soothe and
serve,
There flits the lovely lady with the lamp,
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There
Florence Nightingale
Supplies the need,
Implicit in the deed.
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