 | Poems by John Howard Bryant |  |
IN MEMORIAM.
With reverence, gently bear away,
This brave old man of many years;
And in the graveyard's bosom, lay
His manly form, with sorrowing tears.
This brave old man of many years;
And in the graveyard's bosom, lay
His manly form, with sorrowing tears.
For he, beyond life's common span,
With us has lived and walked abroad;
Has filled the measure of a man,—
Love to his neighbor, faith in God.
With us has lived and walked abroad;
Has filled the measure of a man,—
Love to his neighbor, faith in God.
His cheerful voice we hear no more,
No more, his sturdy form we meet,
Passing along from to door door,
Upon our busy village street.
No more, his sturdy form we meet,
Passing along from to door door,
Upon our busy village street.
With courage true, that never quailed,
He marched, his country to defend.
And who can point, wherein he failed,
As husband, father, brother, friend.
He marched, his country to defend.
And who can point, wherein he failed,
As husband, father, brother, friend.
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In public life, no venal stain,
Dimmed the fair scutcheon of his name;
Nor sought he wealth, or power to gain,
At cost of honor, truth, or fame.
Dimmed the fair scutcheon of his name;
Nor sought he wealth, or power to gain,
At cost of honor, truth, or fame.
With generous, noble, cheerful heart,
In conscious rectitude, he stood,
Nor ever shunned to bear his part,
Against the wrong, and for the good.
In conscious rectitude, he stood,
Nor ever shunned to bear his part,
Against the wrong, and for the good.
Thus lived he, four score years and more;
And died, with an unfaltering trust.
With him, the toils of life are o'er.
He rests among the good and just.
And died, with an unfaltering trust.
With him, the toils of life are o'er.
He rests among the good and just.
| Poems by John Howard Bryant | |