Poems (Griffin)/A Requiem

For works with similar titles, see Requiem.
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A REQUIEM.
LIKE the shades of heavy darkness, Clouds are gathering o'er my soul,And a heavy weight of anguish, Over which I've no control,Bears my drooping spirit downward, Till I seem to hear the flowOf that turbid river, sounding From its unseen depths below;
Till I see its waters flashing Through the dim and shadowy vale,And its darksome billows dashing O'er a struggling victim pale;And I hear a voice familiar Breathe my name amid the roarOf the dark and fearful waters That is heard on earth no more.
Oh, I see him sinking, sinking Deeply, deeply 'neath the wave;And I strive, with heartstrings breaking, The departing form to save. ​But wildly and more madly Sweeps the hurtling current by,And plaintive and more sadly Cometh up that pleading cry.
All the day 'tis wildly ringing In my ear; and when I sleep,In my dreams I still behold him Sinking in the waters deep.And I cannot, though I struggle, Reach that dim and shadowy shore;And despair is all that's left me. He is gone for evermore!
Never more, in living beauty, Will his presence bless my sight;He has passed the gloomy waters; He hath entered into Light!But, ere long, when I have wrestled With those unseen shades below,I shall meet him in the heavens, Free from earth and all its woe.
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