Page:Poems Rice.djvu/46

LINES  SUGGESTED ON READING THE SUDDEN DEATH OF MISS P. A. P.

MOURN not for your loved one,
 Her spirit will live;
Not the gem but the casket
 To earth you must give—
Ere the rose-leaves had faded
 From her spirit's young dream;
Her virtues, so spotless,
 In Heaven will beam.

Weep not for your loved one,
 She's gone to her rest;
Lay flowers, sweet flowers,
 On her innocent breast;
For seraphs are keeping
 Their watch o'er her now—
I see their smiles playing
 On her sinless young brow.

And you, stricken school-mates,
 While bending in prayer,
Though her presence has left you,
 Her spirit's still there;