Ochil Idylls and Other Poems by Hugh Haliburton [i.e. J. L. Robertson] |
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A SISTER'S REQUIEM. |
 | Ochil Idylls and Other Poems |  |
142
A SISTER'S REQUIEM.
Thou sleepest where the Annan winds
Among the dark pine trees;
Not mine, alas! the envied ease
Thy gentle body finds.
Among the dark pine trees;
Not mine, alas! the envied ease
Thy gentle body finds.
O sister, by thy side to lie,
Thy passive hand in mine!
While o'er our common couch the pine
Waves in the eternal sky.
Thy passive hand in mine!
While o'er our common couch the pine
Waves in the eternal sky.
O to forget with thee in sleep
That never breathes nor breaks,
The thousand heart and body aches
That make the living weep!
That never breathes nor breaks,
The thousand heart and body aches
That make the living weep!
To slip from out this weary life,
And to lie down by thee,
And find beneath the same lone tree
Escape from earthly strife.
And to lie down by thee,
And find beneath the same lone tree
Escape from earthly strife.
143
O what to thee the gains of earth,
Its prizes, or its praise,
Its poor unfinish'd works and ways,
Its mockeries of mirth,
Its prizes, or its praise,
Its poor unfinish'd works and ways,
Its mockeries of mirth,
Its promises that ne'er come true,
Its fears that never fail,
Pleasures that only pain entail,
Resolves that only rue!
Its fears that never fail,
Pleasures that only pain entail,
Resolves that only rue!
My gentle sister, from the scene
That faded and was free,
I now would lay me down by thee,
Under the churchyard green.
That faded and was free,
I now would lay me down by thee,
Under the churchyard green.
I, that did weep, and wish, till tears
Fell hot upon thy hand,
That He my grief might understand,
That could fulfil thy years,—
Fell hot upon thy hand,
That He my grief might understand,
That could fulfil thy years,—
Now think the happier lot is thine,
In passive rest to lie,
Where only o'er thee in the sky
Moans the insensate pine.
In passive rest to lie,
Where only o'er thee in the sky
Moans the insensate pine.
| Ochil Idylls and Other Poems | |