The Complete Poems of Christina Rossetti A variorum edition: Edited, with textual notes and introductions, by R. W. Crump |
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“There remaineth therefore a rest.” |
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 | The Complete Poems of Christina Rossetti |  |
“There remaineth therefore a rest.”
Very cool that bed must be
Where our last sleep shall be slept:
There for weary vigils kept,
There for tears that we have wept,
Is our guerdon certainly.
Where our last sleep shall be slept:
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There for tears that we have wept,
Is our guerdon certainly.
Underneath the growing grass,
Underneath the living flowers,
Deeper than the sound of showers;—
There we shall not count the hours
By the shadows as they pass.
Underneath the living flowers,
Deeper than the sound of showers;—
There we shall not count the hours
By the shadows as they pass.
No more struggling then at length,
Only slumber everywhere;
Nothing more to do or bear:
We shall rest, and resting there
Eagle-like renew our strength.
Only slumber everywhere;
Nothing more to do or bear:
We shall rest, and resting there
Eagle-like renew our strength.
In the grave will be no space
For the purple of the proud,
They must mingle with the crowd;
In the wrappings of a shroud
Jewels would be out of place.
For the purple of the proud,
They must mingle with the crowd;
In the wrappings of a shroud
Jewels would be out of place.
Youth and health will be but vain,
Courage reckoned of no worth;
There a very little girth
Shall hold round what once the earth
Seemed too narrow to contain.
Courage reckoned of no worth;
There a very little girth
Shall hold round what once the earth
Seemed too narrow to contain.
High and low and rich and poor,
All will fare alike at last:
The old promise standeth fast:
None shall care then if the past
Held more joys for him or fewer.
All will fare alike at last:
The old promise standeth fast:
None shall care then if the past
Held more joys for him or fewer.
There no laughter shall be heard,
Nor the heavy sound of sighs;
Sleep shall seal the aching eyes;
All the ancient and the wise
There shall utter not a word.
Nor the heavy sound of sighs;
Sleep shall seal the aching eyes;
All the ancient and the wise
There shall utter not a word.
Yet it may be we shall hear
How the mounting skylark sings
And the bell for matins rings;
Or perhaps the whisperings
Of white Angels sweet and clear.
How the mounting skylark sings
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Or perhaps the whisperings
Of white Angels sweet and clear.
Sun or moon hath never shone
In that hidden depth of night;
But the souls there washed and white
Are more fair than fairest light
Mortal eye hath looked upon.
In that hidden depth of night;
But the souls there washed and white
Are more fair than fairest light
Mortal eye hath looked upon.
The die cast whose throw is life—
Rest complete; not one in seven—
Souls love-perfected and shriven
Waiting at the door of heaven,
Perfected from fear of strife.
Rest complete; not one in seven—
Souls love-perfected and shriven
Waiting at the door of heaven,
Perfected from fear of strife.
What a calm when all is done,
Wearing vigil, prayer and fast:—
All fulfilled from first to last:—
All the length of time gone past
And eternity begun.
Wearing vigil, prayer and fast:—
All fulfilled from first to last:—
All the length of time gone past
And eternity begun.
Fear and hope and chastening rod
Urge us on the narrow way:
Bear we still as best we may
Heat and burden of the day,
Struggling panting up to God.
Urge us on the narrow way:
Bear we still as best we may
Heat and burden of the day,
Struggling panting up to God.
| The Complete Poems of Christina Rossetti | |