 | Household Verses |  |
201
MARY'S DIRGE.
“To live in hearts we leave behind— Is not
to die!”
Campbell.
If this be true—thou art not
dead!
For though thy outward life be fled,
Thine inward one still lives
In more than one void aching heart,
And there, though tears unbidden start,
Unto its own immortal part
Undying sweetness gives.
For though thy outward life be fled,
Thine inward one still lives
In more than one void aching heart,
And there, though tears unbidden start,
Unto its own immortal part
Undying sweetness gives.
202
For what is life? Not empty breath!
Nor do we sink in utter death
When that frail boon is gone:
Still true those blessed words must be,
E'en now, we trust, fulfilled to thee,
“The pure in heart their God shall see!”
And thou art living on!
Nor do we sink in utter death
When that frail boon is gone:
Still true those blessed words must be,
E'en now, we trust, fulfilled to thee,
“The pure in heart their God shall see!”
And thou art living on!
Living a life more pure and blest
Than can, in this world of un-rest,
On mortals be conferred:
A life to endless bliss allied,
Which He, our sinless Saviour, died
For his own ransomed to provide,
And sealed it by His word!
Than can, in this world of un-rest,
On mortals be conferred:
A life to endless bliss allied,
Which He, our sinless Saviour, died
For his own ransomed to provide,
And sealed it by His word!
Thy kindness, truthfulness, and love,
Thy gifts and graces from above,
Which earth could not supply;
These formed, in truth, thy hidden life,
Were with unearthly blessings rife,
They perished not in time's short strife,
Nor can they ever DIE!
Thy gifts and graces from above,
Which earth could not supply;
These formed, in truth, thy hidden life,
Were with unearthly blessings rife,
They perished not in time's short strife,
Nor can they ever DIE!
203
Hence I can echo not their tone
Who of thee speak with grief alone,
And, in short-sighted gloom,
Lament for thy untimely lot,
As if they understood it not,
Or in their sorrow half forgot
It ends not with the tomb!
Who of thee speak with grief alone,
And, in short-sighted gloom,
Lament for thy untimely lot,
As if they understood it not,
Or in their sorrow half forgot
It ends not with the tomb!
I sorrow—but mourn not for thee!
For oh! what human lot could be
More free from earthly leaven,
Than that which lent thee here below
The freshest brightness earth can show,
The purest bliss it can bestow,
Then gave thee, while unchilled their glow,
To vanish into heaven!
For oh! what human lot could be
More free from earthly leaven,
Than that which lent thee here below
The freshest brightness earth can show,
The purest bliss it can bestow,
Then gave thee, while unchilled their glow,
To vanish into heaven!
I mourn for them—yet left behind,
Whose hopes, loves, joys, were intertwined
Around thy presence bright;
O'er whom it cast a gentle ray,
Chasing some transient clouds away,
And shedding light surpassing day,
Now veiled awhile in night.
Whose hopes, loves, joys, were intertwined
Around thy presence bright;
O'er whom it cast a gentle ray,
Chasing some transient clouds away,
And shedding light surpassing day,
Now veiled awhile in night.
204
But not a night which ought to mar
Immortal spirits! Like a star,
Thy memory there may rise!
To such a radiant angel still;
Love's gentle mission to fulfil;
And for Grief's icy, sickening chill,
To waken Hope's ecstatic thrill,
With Faith's—triumphant over ill,
In realms beyond the skies!
Immortal spirits! Like a star,
Thy memory there may rise!
To such a radiant angel still;
Love's gentle mission to fulfil;
And for Grief's icy, sickening chill,
To waken Hope's ecstatic thrill,
With Faith's—triumphant over ill,
In realms beyond the skies!
| Household Verses | |