Poems (Argent)/"Not Dead but Living unto Thee"
"NOT DEAD, BUT LIVING UNTO THEE."
(IN LOVING MEMORY OF E. P.)
"All souls are Thine, we must not sayThat they are dead who pass away."Rev. John Ellerton.
OH! closed eyes that ne'er again will weep, Nor open on a world of tearful strife,But beautiful and calm in their last sleep Will wake beyond unto a better life.Dear eyes, that ever held on earth for meA welcome like God's sunlight o'er the sea.
Oh! helpful hands across a quiet breast, Their loving work for others nobly done, Now folded softly to a perfect rest, Secure from change, their guerdon bravely won.Dear hands, that oft in benediction layOn stricken heads, now caught by love away!
Oh! peaceful feet, that walked so firm and fast In thorny paths and gloried in the strife,For them the battle of long years is past, They thread no more the troubled maze of life.Dear feet, that wrought for others what they could,Nor wearied in the bliss of doing good.
Oh! sunny heart, that gave kind thoughts to all And breathed a beauty wonderful and fair,Wherever sadness with her funeral pall Cast a dire shadow darkening all the air.Dear loving heart, that took unto its throneOur human griefs, forgetting all her own.
Oh! happy voice, no more below we hear Its rippling cadence and its waves of mirth,None know our sense of loss, nor see the tear That trembling falls unheeded to the earth.Dear voice, that ever cheered me and caressed,And blessing others was by others blessed.
Oh! mind serene, on which the dews of age Fell like the light from some unsetting sun,Turning to warm, soft glow the written page Of wide contentment by self-victory won. Sweet garnered mind that blossomed like the rose'Neath sun and shower, itself its best repose.
Poor souls that grieve and grieve, and eyes that weep For such a loss, look up beyond the sod,To her, "He giveth His beloved sleep," The pilgrim feet have reached their home and God.For her the crown of joy and robes of white!The beatific vision and the light!