CXXX. A DREAM OF DEATH.
I
I dreamed a pleasant dream of death,
As a lady fair and bright,
Who came to my bedside suddenly
In the stillness of the night.
“Art thou afraid of me?” the said,
In tones so sweet and low,
That I knew she spoke as a kindly friend
And not as a vengeful foe.
And I answered cheerily, and sighed,
“No, my beloved, no!
II
“Why should I fear? thou canst not come
An hour before the day
Fixed and appointed; and thy steps
Nor hasten, nor delay.
I should have lived my life in vain,
Nor known where all things tend
If I'd not felt and surely known
That thou wouldst be my friend,
And that beginning were but loss
Unless for blessed end.”
III
Come to me then, O kindly Death!
This body fears thee not,
'Tis but the garment of the soul
To wear and be forgot.
I see thee stretch thy radiant hand
To open wide the door,
Through which my spirit, glad to pass,
Shall mount unseen, and soar
To learn the mysteries of Heaven
Ever and evermore.
IV
To learn to know the hidden things
Too long by earth concealed,
The secrets of Eternity
That wait to be revealed.
Come to me, Death! take off my robes
And lay them in the sod;
I long to leave the doleful paths
Where, slave of Earth, I've trod,
And shine a naked soul in Heaven,
Immortal as my God!
