For works with similar titles, see Life.
LIFE.
Life, passing like the morning ray,
Speeds swiftly on its rapid way,
And closes, with the closing day,
So pass away the generous mind,
The faultless form, the soul refin'd,
The friend sincere, the parent kind.
So pass we all: the heart must fail,
The dim eye close, the cheek turn pale,
As sinks to earth this fabric frail.
And thou, whose eye may view this line,
When low in dust my limbs recline,
Though dead, I speak, that fate is thine.
Go, seek his love, whose blood was shed,
In streams on awful Calvary's head,
Go, cleanse thee in that torrent red:
Then happy, whoso'er thou art,
If here thou stay, or hence depart,
For Christ shall bear thee on his heart.