[To Mrs. Charles Lowe, in] Memorial to Charles Lowe Departed this earthly life at Swampscott, Mass., June 20, 1874 |
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 | [To Mrs. Charles Lowe, in] Memorial to Charles Lowe |  |
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TO MRS. CHARLES LOWE.
Forgive a heart whose thoughts perchance intrude
Upon the privacy of blessed grief
That seeks in heaven-communing solitude
Hope's ecstasy and earthly woe's relief!
Upon the privacy of blessed grief
That seeks in heaven-communing solitude
Hope's ecstasy and earthly woe's relief!
We in thy loss a friend, a brother, mourn;
Thy gain has given us, too, one angel more:
Not far from us, we feel, has he been borne,
Exiled to some remote and shadowy shore.
Thy gain has given us, too, one angel more:
Not far from us, we feel, has he been borne,
Exiled to some remote and shadowy shore.
That pure and generous soul, that tender heart,
The mind that looked from that clear, lustrous eye,
While memory lives in us, can ne'er depart,—
Still help make glad our earth and bright our sky.
The mind that looked from that clear, lustrous eye,
While memory lives in us, can ne'er depart,—
Still help make glad our earth and bright our sky.
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“True to the kindred points of heaven and home,”
How true he was none knows so well as thou!
And since the angels came to call him home,
How home-like heaven,—thy home, how heavenly now!
How true he was none knows so well as thou!
And since the angels came to call him home,
How home-like heaven,—thy home, how heavenly now!
“'Tis home where'er the heart is,”—and the heart
Will always be there where its treasure is:
With heavenly treasure how enriched thou art,
Who such an earthly one henceforth shall miss!
Will always be there where its treasure is:
With heavenly treasure how enriched thou art,
Who such an earthly one henceforth shall miss!
How precious is the memory of that day,
When, looking out upon the beauteous sea,
With tranquil, trustful, thankful look he lay,
Waiting the pilot Death to set him free!
When, looking out upon the beauteous sea,
With tranquil, trustful, thankful look he lay,
Waiting the pilot Death to set him free!
That sea—God's boundless deep of love and light—
On which, earth's moorings loose, he launched away,
Oh, does it not to faith, almost to sight,
Murmur and glow around us night and day?
On which, earth's moorings loose, he launched away,
Oh, does it not to faith, almost to sight,
Murmur and glow around us night and day?
And there, he is at large,—at work, at rest!
And is not now henceforth this earthly isle,
To us who here await the Lord's behest,
Made sweeter, holier by his farewell smile?
And is not now henceforth this earthly isle,
To us who here await the Lord's behest,
Made sweeter, holier by his farewell smile?
These words—I feel how weak and poor they are
To memories, griefs, and hopes so rich as thine,—
Read by thee kindly, will not haply jar
Upon the music of that song divine,
To memories, griefs, and hopes so rich as thine,—
Read by thee kindly, will not haply jar
Upon the music of that song divine,
Which Hope and Memory, sisters sweet, combine
To cheer thee with in sorrow's lonely hours,
While round that pale, transfigured brow they twine
A heavenly chaplet of immortal flowers.
To cheer thee with in sorrow's lonely hours,
While round that pale, transfigured brow they twine
A heavenly chaplet of immortal flowers.
C. T. Brooks.
| [To Mrs. Charles Lowe, in] Memorial to Charles Lowe | |