 | [Traces of the departed, in] A Memorial of the Life and Character of John W. Francis, Jr |  |
83
TRACES OF THE DEPARTED.
BY THE AUTHOR OF “PASSION FLOWERS.”
A modelled portrait on the wall,
A shadow, by a sunbeam caught,
Charged with the burthen of the soul,
The features of his daily thought;
A shadow, by a sunbeam caught,
Charged with the burthen of the soul,
The features of his daily thought;
The mind of youthful vigor, bent
On nobly learning how to live;
The heart, of sympathetic thrill;
The hand, that gathered but to give;
On nobly learning how to live;
The heart, of sympathetic thrill;
The hand, that gathered but to give;
A void in each familiar place,
That other forms can never fill;
The music of a banished voice,
For which the mourner listens still;
That other forms can never fill;
The music of a banished voice,
For which the mourner listens still;
84
A ringlet from the sunny crowd
That brightened on his generous brow;
Sweet words, like gold grains, garnered up,—
Such thoughts and things are left us now!—
That brightened on his generous brow;
Sweet words, like gold grains, garnered up,—
Such thoughts and things are left us now!—
Sad but undying relics these—
What treasures of the land or sea,
Or hope of bliss, should make us yield
The blessing of his memory?
What treasures of the land or sea,
Or hope of bliss, should make us yield
The blessing of his memory?
| [Traces of the departed, in] A Memorial of the Life and Character of John W. Francis, Jr | |