 | The path of sorrow, or, the lament of youth |  |
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AN ELEGY,
On the death of my friend, Mr. Thomas Lacey. His last, words were—“remember and do not forget me!”
“And with spirits unincarnate, took
Celestial passtime, on the hills of God,
Forgetful of the gloomy pass between.”
Pollok.
Celestial passtime, on the hills of God,
Forgetful of the gloomy pass between.”
Pollok.
I.
Farewell to the heart that I loved and endeared,—To the friend and the love of my youth!
Adieu to the friend whom I loved and revered,
Who offered his life on the altar of truth.
Though this prelude of distance shall roll,
And my absence be filled with regret;
Yet, there rolls on the sea of my soul,
An impulse I ne'er can forget.
II.
The star of thy glory's gone down!The sun of thy pleasure has set!
But the love that I claim as mine own,
Shall warn me to never forget!
Thou art dead! and I love thee my friend!
I am far from my own native shore,
But my tears with my sorrows, I blend,
Till I meet thee, where parting is o'er!
III.
In the midst of thy youthful career,In the dawn of thy childhood and glee,
Thou wert honest, and faithful, and dear,—
This libation I pour unto thee!
How sweet is an eloquent tear,
Too great for this heart rending debt!
But to speak of a friendship so dear,
I can never, no, never forget!
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IV.
Thy soul is evoked to the skies,And thy heart-strings now welter in dust!
Thou hast felt how mortality dies,
When the Lord is thy glory and trust.
The day has arrived—thou must die!
Yes, thy cheeks—they are clammy and wet;
Thy death, thy request, and the sigh,
I can never, no, never forget!
V.
I remember the vows of thy heart,I remember the day that we met;
Though thy day has arrived, we must part:
And thy name fills my soul with regret—
Though thy soul is evoked from thee ever,
And I loose thee, though loved and endeared,
Yet, my soul shall remember forever,
Thy last dying lisp that was heard!
VI.
“From the vale of mortality's grief,On the wings of a cherubic dove,
My soul is convoked, as relief,
To the bourne of contentment and love.
I have done all that honor dould do,
I have loved and remembered my friends;
'Tis all that my heart, ever true,
Could contribute as virtue's amends.
VII.
Oh! remember the vows of my heart!Cast thine eyes on the cheeks that are wet;
Oh! behold them before we shall part,
And, never—oh! never forget!
Farewell to the friends of my youth,
For my soul is conjured to the skies;
I resign all my vows as a truth,
As my soul from my body now flies!
VIII.
Ye pupils I tutored when young,130
When I'm dead, lisp my name with your tongue,
And never, oh! never forget!
This sigh I can never repress—
Oh! remember the vows of my heart!
And more than my tongue can express,
Oh! forget not the day that we part!
IX.
Nature summons my body to death!My soul bursts the bonds of regret;
And inspires this undying breath,
With the bliss I can never forget.
Let the wings of the wind bear the sound,
Let the whirlwinds of glory be driven—
Let the hearse of mortality's sound,
Conduct such a rapture to heaven!
X.
Let the jessamine twine on my grave,Plant the cypress and sweet eglantine;
But dearer than all, humbly save,
One tear drop, as sample of thine.
Farewell! I return to the dust!
My soul shall be tender as ever,
Oh! remember, remember the trust,
I reposed in Jehovah forever.
XI.
My cause litigated on earth—Yes, evinced by the tide of my love,
With my soul's depositions of worth,
Shall give life to my verdict above.
Through the ambient jems of the sky,
As the Angel of glory appears,
My soul shall be wafted on high,
Where my triumph shall banish my tears.
XII.
Behold! how my soul loves to part,To the home of its kingdom and birth—
Now, death holds the flood of my heart,
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I am gone! place your hand on my breast—
Take my hand—'tis my last dying word!
I will write you the place of my rest,
By the dove from the ark of the Lord.”
| The path of sorrow, or, the lament of youth | |