Easter by Auslander

Easter

     Be not too solemn on this day
     You who hurry forth to pray:
For the Lord who rose from death
Was once a child of Nazareth
Romping hither, running thence,
Happy in His innocence,
And in children found again
Faith that lifts the hearts of men.
Childlike faith, as quick and kind,
Can move mountains from the mind;
     You who hurry forth to pray
     Ponder this on Easter day.

~ Joseph Auslander

found in My Mother's Poetry Notebook

My Risen Lord

My risen Lord, I feel Thy strong protection;
I see Thee stand among the graves today;
"I am the Way, the Life, the Resurrection," I hear Thee say.
And all the burdens I have carried sadly
Grow light as blossoms on an April Day;
My cross becomes a staff, I journey gladly
This Easter day.

What Does Easter Mean To You

From My Mother’s Poetry Notebook: What does Easter Mean To You

MARY LOUISE HOOLEY-CARLISLE·THURSDAY, MARCH 31, 2016

What does Easter mean to you?
Stately church with cushioned pew,
Where, Lenten season gone at last
And days of self-denial past,
Richly-clad, devoted throngs
Of worshipers unite in songs
Of praise in lily-scented air?
Is this what makes your Easter fair?

Does it mean the end of winter’s reign,
Bright skies and welcome warmth again,
Singing of birds, budding of trees,
Sweet spring odors on the breeze
From daffodil and crocus bed
And balsam branches overhead?
Sad is the world and cold and gray
If this is all of Easter Day.

But if this blessed season brings,
A firmer faith in holy things;
Assurance of a living Lord;
A strengthening of the tender cord
Of love that binds us to the life to come
Where loved ones ‘wait us in the heavenly home,
No pain or loss can e’er afface the bliss,
Dear friend of Easter, when it means all this.

Untitled poem with no author credit, hand-typed on the back of an old bulletin from Pleasant View Mennonite Church, (Pastor Lester Mann, my uncle, Aunt Elsie’s husband); no date.

Found in one my mother’s poetry notebooks.