Berries & Blossoms :: :: University of Virginia Library

“Oh! where is Willie, my brother?
Up and down the stair,
And in the porch, and over the lawn,
And under the milk-white blossoming thorn,
I seek, but he is not there.
Oh! where is Willie, my brother?”
Not a sound doth she hear
But the solemn knell
Of a funeral bell,
In the old church tower anear.

“Oh! Willie, Willie, my brother—
So wan thy face had grown!
When I saw thee, darling, yesterweek,
And kiss'd thy lip, and kiss'd thy cheek,
And soothed thy sobbing moan—
Oh! Willie, Willie, my brother!”
Not a sound doth she hear,
But the solemn knell
Of a funeral bell,
In the old church tower anear!

“Oh! Willie, the day is dreary!
Oh! Willie, I cannot play;—
To hear thy little foot on the floor,
And thy sweet, shrill laugh ring out once more,
I'd give my life away!
Oh! Willie, Willie, my brother!”
Not a sound doth she hear,
But the solemn knell
Of a funeral bell,
In the old church tower anear.

“Oh! Willie, I love thee dearly,—
Oh! darling, listen to me;
If thou hast left me, and gone afar
To the land where the blessed children are,
Oh! send an angel from that bright star,
To take me up to thee!
Oh! Willie, Willie, my brother!”—
Not a sound doth she hear,
But the solemn knell
Of a funeral bell,
In the old church tower anear.