 | Jones Very : The Complete Poems |  |
52
Death Decay and Change
Sounds are ringing on my ear
Sights are floating in my eye
Now those sounds I cannot hear
And those visions too—they fly!
Sights are floating in my eye
Now those sounds I cannot hear
And those visions too—they fly!
What is this? the tolling bell
Mournfully the surges roll
That of the departed tell
He a brother of my soul.
Mournfully the surges roll
That of the departed tell
He a brother of my soul.
What new note is on the air
That just bore the knell of pain
Reaper's voices—home they bear
Autumn's yellow glittering grain.
That just bore the knell of pain
Reaper's voices—home they bear
Autumn's yellow glittering grain.
Where has fled from me the face
That from me this moment past
Ah! Why clothed thee such a grace
If thou wast to flee so fast!
That from me this moment past
Ah! Why clothed thee such a grace
If thou wast to flee so fast!
See a bud of earliest bloom
Presses now upon my sight
In the distance rolls the gloom
That o'er me had cast its night
Presses now upon my sight
In the distance rolls the gloom
That o'er me had cast its night
But though fair as thee 'twill fade
Swift as all that fled before
On its stem Time's hand is laid
There! I see its bloom no more—
Swift as all that fled before
On its stem Time's hand is laid
There! I see its bloom no more—
Death Decay and Change succeeding
Let us live a life of love
Each their silent tokens heeding
As words whispered from above
Let us live a life of love
Each their silent tokens heeding
As words whispered from above
To the lonely broken hearted
By his kindest nearest Friend
Of a love that is not parted
Of a life that cannot end
By his kindest nearest Friend
Of a love that is not parted
Of a life that cannot end
Poem No. 432; 1836?
| Jones Very : The Complete Poems | |