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Lines on Reading the Death of Rev. Henry Ware, Jr.
Though thou art dead and gone from mortal sight,Faith will not let thee go, but follows on;
It sees thee even here beyond the grave,
That farthest limit to the eye of sense!
Blessed is he who puts his trust in him
Who came into, and left this earthly sphere,
Yet without sin. Such shall not stay within
The darksome tomb, companion of the dead,
But rise in incorruption with his Lord.
I thought not that so soon thou wouldst depart!
It seems but yesterday, and strong thy mind
And vigorous in man's service;—but the day
And hour that calls the faithful servant home
Into his Master's joy we cannot know.
Thou tendest now those “other sheep” which he
Has gone to bring. Many have heard thy voice
And known it here, and many learned from thee
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Thy praise, and grateful hearts whom thou hast left
To mourn.
How many of the great and good
Within this fleeting year have passed away!
Alas! it pains me but to tell them o'er.
Names that the world has honored and revered,
And some as worthy that the world ne'er knew.
Much have we cause to mourn, whose lights yet burn,
For so much Genius, Wisdom, Goodness gone.
But let us not say “gone;” but see those still
Whom we have lost, in Heaven, their proper home.
Poem No. 709; c. 30 September 1843
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