Maryland, my Maryland, and other poems/In Memoriam
IN MEMORIAM
Father and Lord! We know full well
Thy chastisements are for the best;
And while the loved and lost are blest,
Our hearts throb like a funeral bell,
Although the weary are at rest.
We bow to Thy decree, we bow
To that dread stroke which bore away,
To regions of eternal day,
Our darling boy, whose starry brow
Beamed like a golden morn of May.
And yet, dear God, how hard to yield,
Even to Thee, that precious life—
Bequeathed to glory without strife,
Without a scar or battle-field—
But with Love’s tenderest virtues rife.
He came to us as sunshine falls
Upon a sorrow-stricken hearth.
He came with innocence and mirth;
His voice made music in our halls—
How can we hide him in the earth?
Thou who wast scourged and crucified
For fallen man! behold to-night
A mother smitten in Thy sight.
Behold how all her hopes have died!
Send her Thy comfort and Thy light!
Tell her that when the cruel wave
Closed o’er her child’s benignant head,
The Lord of Life in mercy sped,
To glorify him in the grave
And raise an angel from the dead.
Too pure to combat this dark globe,
Too gentle for the madding crowd,
Better thy unpolluted shroud,
Thy early death, thy spotless robe,
Than many years with sadness bowed.
Ah! we who loved thee so will keep
Thy memory a sacred trust,
A sweet evangel from the dust,
To cheer us when we wail and weep,
While thou art dwelling with the Just!