42
POEMS.
And calmly, as his life had passed,
Passed forth his spirit bright;
And the child awoke to rapture's day,
And the man to sorrow's night.
Passed forth his spirit bright;
And the child awoke to rapture's day,
And the man to sorrow's night.
****
Still seemed it as a dream, until
The grass grew o'er the dead,
And the flowers he had cherished
Waved gently o'er his head;
The grass grew o'er the dead,
And the flowers he had cherished
Waved gently o'er his head;
For the father's heart still, still it clung
To the grave of all his joy:
The brilliant future of his hopes
Lay with his fair-haired boy.
To the grave of all his joy:
The brilliant future of his hopes
Lay with his fair-haired boy.
And he thought the tears which ever dewed
That tomb of loveliness,
Had, far beyond all other tears,
Of a stern world's bitterness.
That tomb of loveliness,
Had, far beyond all other tears,
Of a stern world's bitterness.
But years have passed; and, passing, can
Bring balm to blighted hearts;
And the parent's grief—like morning mists
Before the sun—departs.
Bring balm to blighted hearts;
And the parent's grief—like morning mists
Before the sun—departs.
