 | Poems Old and New by Charles D. Bell |  |
113
“IS IT WELL WITH THE CHILD?”
“Is it well with the child? It is well.”
Three dream-like years, and only three,
He blessed our home with love;
And then he passed away from earth,
To the home of God above.
He blessed our home with love;
And then he passed away from earth,
To the home of God above.
He lay so very calm and still,
We did not know 'twas death;
And thought we heard, through parted lips,
The stirrings of his breath.
We did not know 'twas death;
And thought we heard, through parted lips,
The stirrings of his breath.
But when the truth flashed on our mind,
Our eyes grew dim with tears;
We had not whispered to ourselves
This close to all our fears.
Our eyes grew dim with tears;
We had not whispered to ourselves
This close to all our fears.
Dear boy! he looked so sweet, so fair!
And round his forehead white,
Clustered the curls of golden hair,
Like an aureole of light.
And round his forehead white,
Clustered the curls of golden hair,
Like an aureole of light.
114
We wept; we could not choose but weep,
So sore our hearts with pain;
And nature's bitter cry was this:
“Oh, give him back again!”
So sore our hearts with pain;
And nature's bitter cry was this:
“Oh, give him back again!”
We did not think he could have died,
We hoped when hope was o'er;
We fondly thought the little life
Would be our life once more.
We hoped when hope was o'er;
We fondly thought the little life
Would be our life once more.
The world so empty seemed,—so blank
Without our darling one,
Who gave to life its grace and bloom,
And to our home its sun.
Without our darling one,
Who gave to life its grace and bloom,
And to our home its sun.
We never knew so well before
How much we loved the boy,—
How in our heart of hearts he lived
Our fondest hope, our joy.
How much we loved the boy,—
How in our heart of hearts he lived
Our fondest hope, our joy.
We had not thought his gentle voice
So much had cheered our way,
Or that his eyes had been the light
Of our brief marriage-day.
So much had cheered our way,
Or that his eyes had been the light
Of our brief marriage-day.
We knew it then as he lay there,
We know it more and more;
We feel the world can never be
What it was to us before.
We know it more and more;
We feel the world can never be
What it was to us before.
115
But all is well, our God is good,
This truth we both believe;
We sorrow not without a hope,
Not unconsoled we grieve.
This truth we both believe;
We sorrow not without a hope,
Not unconsoled we grieve.
God haply may have known that we
Had loved him all too well;
And so He took him from our arms,
To heaven with Him to dwell.
Had loved him all too well;
And so He took him from our arms,
To heaven with Him to dwell.
God may have seen his future lot,
All shadowed o'er with shame,
And kindly saved him from the world,
While pure and free from blame.
All shadowed o'er with shame,
And kindly saved him from the world,
While pure and free from blame.
And so we say that “It is well,”
Through eyes with weeping dim;
For though he'll not return to us,
Yet we shall go to him.
Through eyes with weeping dim;
For though he'll not return to us,
Yet we shall go to him.
| Poems Old and New by Charles D. Bell | |