HEREAFTER
O land beyond the setting sun!
O realm more fair than poet's dream!
How clear thy silver rivers run,
How bright thy golden glories gleam!
O realm more fair than poet's dream!
How clear thy silver rivers run,
How bright thy golden glories gleam!
Earth holds no counterpart of thine;
The dark-browed Orient, jewel-crowned,
Pales as she bows before thy shrine,
Shrouded in mystery profound.
The dark-browed Orient, jewel-crowned,
Pales as she bows before thy shrine,
Shrouded in mystery profound.
The dazzling North, the stately West,
Whose waters flow from mount to sea;
The South, flower-wreathed in languid rest—
W)hat are they all, compared with thee?
Whose waters flow from mount to sea;
The South, flower-wreathed in languid rest—
W)hat are they all, compared with thee?
All lands, all realms beneath yon dome,
Where God's own hand hath hung the stars,
To thee with humblest homage come,
O world beyond the crystal bars!
Where God's own hand hath hung the stars,
To thee with humblest homage come,
O world beyond the crystal bars!
Thou blest Hereafter! Mortal tongue
Hath striven in vain thy speech to learn,
And Fancy wanders, lost among
The flowery paths for which we yearn.
Hath striven in vain thy speech to learn,
And Fancy wanders, lost among
The flowery paths for which we yearn.
But well we know that fair and bright,
Far beyond human ken or dream,
Too glorious for our feeble sight,
Thy skies of cloudless azure beam.
Far beyond human ken or dream,
Too glorious for our feeble sight,
Thy skies of cloudless azure beam.
