 | My Mind and its Thoughts, in Sketches, Fragments, and Essays |  |
REANIMATION.
WRITTEN AT THE REQUEST OF THE BOSTON HUMANE SOCIETY, AND INTENDED BY THE AUTHOR TO BE SUNG BY THE REANIMATED PERSONS WALKING IN PROCESSION.
Who from the closing shades of night,
When the last tear of hope is shed,
Can bid the soul return to light,
And break the slumber of the dead!
When the last tear of hope is shed,
Can bid the soul return to light,
And break the slumber of the dead!
No human skill that heart can warm,
Which the cold blast of nature froze,
Recall to life the perished form,
The secret of the grave disclose.
Which the cold blast of nature froze,
Recall to life the perished form,
The secret of the grave disclose.
But Thou—our saving God—we know,
Canst bless the mortal arm with power,
To bid the stagnant pulses flow,
The animating heat restore.
Canst bless the mortal arm with power,
To bid the stagnant pulses flow,
The animating heat restore.
Thy will, ere nature's tutored hand
Could with young life these limbs unfold,
Did the imprison'd brain expand,
And all its countless fibres told:
Could with young life these limbs unfold,
Did the imprison'd brain expand,
And all its countless fibres told:
As from the dust thy forming breath
Could the unconscious being raise,
So shall the wasted voice of death
Wake at thy call in songs of praise.
Could the unconscious being raise,
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Wake at thy call in songs of praise.
Since twice to die is ours' alone,
And twice the birth of life to see;
Oh let us, suppliant at thy throne,
Devote our second life to Thee.
And twice the birth of life to see;
Oh let us, suppliant at thy throne,
Devote our second life to Thee.
| My Mind and its Thoughts, in Sketches, Fragments, and Essays | |