 | Poems by the late John Bethune |  |
STANZAS—1834.
Oh! to be landed in safety where
Grief cannot come o'er the heavy heart,
Nor shadow, nor gloom, of the demon Despair,
A moment of suffering impart.
Oh! to be over death's dark gloomy river,
To rejoice in the day-beam beyond it for ever.
Grief cannot come o'er the heavy heart,
Nor shadow, nor gloom, of the demon Despair,
A moment of suffering impart.
Oh! to be over death's dark gloomy river,
To rejoice in the day-beam beyond it for ever.
But appalling groans, and ominous screams,
Arise our souls to affright,
And embitter the sweets of our happiest dreams,
As we gaze on that valley of night;
Where the dreary absinthian waters of death
Roll, dashing our hopes, and disturbing our faith.
Arise our souls to affright,
And embitter the sweets of our happiest dreams,
As we gaze on that valley of night;
Where the dreary absinthian waters of death
Roll, dashing our hopes, and disturbing our faith.
The shrieks of despair, and the wailings of woe,
Are heard 'mid the fathomless gloom,
But no mortal may pierce to the gulf whence they flow,
Or discover the depth of his doom:
For the blackness of darkness appals the poor heart,
Which hath lost its bright pole-star, its compass and chart.
Are heard 'mid the fathomless gloom,
But no mortal may pierce to the gulf whence they flow,
Or discover the depth of his doom:
For the blackness of darkness appals the poor heart,
Which hath lost its bright pole-star, its compass and chart.
May He who has pass'd through that river before,
Who knows all its reefs and its rocks,
A passage of peace for our spirits explore,
Enlighten its shadows, and shield from its shocks,
And pilot us safe to that region beyond,
Where the righteous no more shall despair or despond.
Who knows all its reefs and its rocks,
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Enlighten its shadows, and shield from its shocks,
And pilot us safe to that region beyond,
Where the righteous no more shall despair or despond.
| Poems by the late John Bethune | |