 | Poems: Second Series |  |
104
WAITING FOR THE DAWN.
I said ‘Mama is going home
To God's home in the bright blue sky:
She wants her little ones to come
And kiss her—and then say goodbye.’
To God's home in the bright blue sky:
She wants her little ones to come
And kiss her—and then say goodbye.’
The children wondering what I meant
Looked up—my eyes were far away:
They put their hands in mine, and went
To where their dying mother lay.
Looked up—my eyes were far away:
They put their hands in mine, and went
To where their dying mother lay.
Their rosy lips gave, each in turn,
Warm kisses to the cold white brow:
I saw her eyes light up and yearn—
I see them lit and yearning now.
Warm kisses to the cold white brow:
I saw her eyes light up and yearn—
I see them lit and yearning now.
The children went away to bed,
And on each pillow snowy white
A ruddy cheek—a curly head
Nestled in slumber all the night.
And on each pillow snowy white
A ruddy cheek—a curly head
Nestled in slumber all the night.
105
And I was in the room of death
Alone—alone—the long hours through:
I watched the gently taken breath
Grow faint and faint as falling dew.
Alone—alone—the long hours through:
I watched the gently taken breath
Grow faint and faint as falling dew.
At length there came a change—a chill,
That drew a shiver from the earth,
A shiver of wind—then all was still—
I waited for the daylight's birth.
That drew a shiver from the earth,
A shiver of wind—then all was still—
I waited for the daylight's birth.
A ghastly glimmer of the dawn,
Sadder than darkness, filled the room:
The veil was lifted—not withdrawn;
I saw enough to see the gloom.
Sadder than darkness, filled the room:
The veil was lifted—not withdrawn;
I saw enough to see the gloom.
I took in mine the wasted hand,
And sank upon my knees in prayer,
The while with dreamy eyes I scanned
The large blue veins that wandered there.
And sank upon my knees in prayer,
The while with dreamy eyes I scanned
The large blue veins that wandered there.
Till something seemed to whisper ‘Rise’—
I rose in haste, and bending o'er
The pillow, sought the sweet blue eyes
Where life's warm sparkle played no more.
I rose in haste, and bending o'er
The pillow, sought the sweet blue eyes
Where life's warm sparkle played no more.
106
Yet love shone through them—Love that gains
Intensity when force is spent;
Infinite in its very chains,
And in its dumbness eloquent.
Intensity when force is spent;
Infinite in its very chains,
And in its dumbness eloquent.
For never is the sun so bright
As then when evening clouds eclipse,
Nor Love so fair as when her light
Burns through the veil of speechless lips.
As then when evening clouds eclipse,
Nor Love so fair as when her light
Burns through the veil of speechless lips.
O speechless lips, I saw you move
To make a kiss, but Death forbade:
You told your agony of love,
Although the kiss was never made.
To make a kiss, but Death forbade:
You told your agony of love,
Although the kiss was never made.
For unperceived Death's shadowy mist
Came lightly gliding in between
Our yearning souls, and as I kissed
The lips, I touched the icy screen.
Came lightly gliding in between
Our yearning souls, and as I kissed
The lips, I touched the icy screen.
And in that touch a chilling wave
Of wintry breath, that crept and stole
Like nightwind moaning o'er a grave,
Curdled the stillness of my soul.
Of wintry breath, that crept and stole
Like nightwind moaning o'er a grave,
Curdled the stillness of my soul.
107
I dared not name or shape in thought
The sickening doubt—the formless dread;
Half aimlessly I rose and sought
The window pane—the sky was dead:
The sickening doubt—the formless dread;
Half aimlessly I rose and sought
The window pane—the sky was dead:
Clouds hung against it, wan and dim
And lifeless as my darling's cheek;
But just along the eastern rim
There ran a faintly golden streak.
And lifeless as my darling's cheek;
But just along the eastern rim
There ran a faintly golden streak.
| Poems: Second Series | |