An archival Valentine’s Day poem

Ok, so maybe it’s not the happiest Valentine’s Day poem out there but there is no denying it’s kinda romantic and it does include the word love a couple times. Plus, every good Valentine’s Day poem should include a reference to the harp, right? We can’t be too picky either because poetry, let alone love poetry, is not exactly prevalent in most church archives. This poem is thought to have been written by Rev. G.W. Tuttle who was a Methodist minister in Nova Scotia in the 1850s-1880s. Now if only we knew who Martha was…

In case you can’t decipher the faded handwriting, here’s a transcription provided free of charge:

To Martha

Farewell I go to wander far

Away from thee my love

But Jesus is my guiding star

Where’er on earth I am

Then let me strike my harp again

My lay of love to tell

And with its sweetest softest strain

Bid thee again farewell