 | Zinzendorff, and other poems |  |
DEATH OF A WIFE DURING THE ABSENCE OF HER HUSBAND.
The Man of God, from distant toil
To his sweet home drew nigh,
And kindling expectation rose
With brightness to his eye,—
But She, the sharer of his joy,
The solace of his care,—
Whose smile of welcome, woke his soul
To rapture, was not there.
To his sweet home drew nigh,
And kindling expectation rose
With brightness to his eye,—
But She, the sharer of his joy,
The solace of his care,—
Whose smile of welcome, woke his soul
To rapture, was not there.
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He entered and his darling boys
Came gathering to his side,—
Tears glitter'd on their cheeks of rose,—
Why were those tears undry'd?
And one a stranger to its sire,—
A new born babe was there,—
Its feeble wailing pierced his ear,—
Where was its mother?—where?
Came gathering to his side,—
Tears glitter'd on their cheeks of rose,—
Why were those tears undry'd?
And one a stranger to its sire,—
A new born babe was there,—
Its feeble wailing pierced his ear,—
Where was its mother?—where?
They told him,—and he hasted down
To that oblivious cell,—
From whence no tenant e'er return'd,
Among mankind to dwell,—
And there, the glory of his house,
A lifeless ruin lay,—
And bowing down in bitter woe
He kiss'd the unanswering clay.
To that oblivious cell,—
From whence no tenant e'er return'd,
Among mankind to dwell,—
And there, the glory of his house,
A lifeless ruin lay,—
And bowing down in bitter woe
He kiss'd the unanswering clay.
But had not Faith and Hope been there,
Whose strong, inspiring breath
Had borne that parted friend above
The agony of death;—
Had they not stood divinely near
To yield a sure relief,—
What else could hold the soul unwreck'd
Amid that tide of grief?
Whose strong, inspiring breath
Had borne that parted friend above
The agony of death;—
Had they not stood divinely near
To yield a sure relief,—
What else could hold the soul unwreck'd
Amid that tide of grief?
| Zinzendorff, and other poems | |