 | Household Verses |  |
88
A LAMENT.
We knew the hour was drawing near,
Thy signal of release;
When every conflict, every fear,
For thee, loved friend, should cease.
Thy signal of release;
When every conflict, every fear,
For thee, loved friend, should cease.
That hour has come! and well may
wake
A lay of mingled tone,
Fraught with thanksgiving for thy sake,
And sorrow for our own.
A lay of mingled tone,
Fraught with thanksgiving for thy sake,
And sorrow for our own.
In thankfulness we ought to bow,
Lamented friend, for thee,
E'en while we mourn, remembering thou
From suffering now art free.
Lamented friend, for thee,
E'en while we mourn, remembering thou
From suffering now art free.
89
When we retrace our long past hours
Of anxious hope and fear,
And thine of pain—could wish of ours
Desire thy tarriance here?
Of anxious hope and fear,
And thine of pain—could wish of ours
Desire thy tarriance here?
When faith that happier lot can see,
Which now we trust is thine,
Selfish indeed all grief must be
That could for thee repine.
Which now we trust is thine,
Selfish indeed all grief must be
That could for thee repine.
Yet not the less, of thee bereft,
Full many a heart must feel
The aching void which thou hast left,
And own its mute appeal.
Full many a heart must feel
The aching void which thou hast left,
And own its mute appeal.
Beside thy hospitable hearth,
At no far distant day,
Thy smile, thy voice, in hours of mirth,
Were gayest of the gay.
At no far distant day,
Thy smile, thy voice, in hours of mirth,
Were gayest of the gay.
Nor less—in seasons dark and drear,
Were we as sure to find
Thy zeal to comfort, soothe, or cheer,
The kindest of the kind!
Were we as sure to find
Thy zeal to comfort, soothe, or cheer,
The kindest of the kind!
90
Oh! well may I thy worth confess,
In sunshine, or in gloom;
And mourn, with grateful tenderness,
Thy transit to the tomb.
In sunshine, or in gloom;
And mourn, with grateful tenderness,
Thy transit to the tomb.
For, dared I give my fancy scope,
I can but feel how vain
It were in me to nurse the hope
To see thy like again!
I can but feel how vain
It were in me to nurse the hope
To see thy like again!
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