And wipe God's feet; and her dark eyes will raise
Up to Christ's face, and touch Him with her hand,
And will with her own sweet voice, sing God's praise
And still be fairest in the Angel band.
[UNTIL THE NIGHT.]
Over the ocean of life's commotion
We sail till the night comes on.
Sail and sail in a tiny boat,
Drifting wherever the billows go.
Out on the treacherous sea afloat,
Beat by the cruel winds that blow,
Hither and thither our boat is drawn,
Till the day dies out and the night comes on.
Over a meadow of light and shadow
We wander with weary feet,
Seeking a bauble men call "Fame,"
Grasping the dead-sea fruit named "wealth,"
Finding each but an empty name,
And the night--the night steals on by stealth.
And we count the season of slumber sweet,
When hope lies dead in the arms of defeat.
Over the river a great Forever,
Stretches beyond our sight.
But I know by the glistening pearly gates
Afar from the region of strife and sin,
A beautiful angel always waits
To welcome the sheep of the shepherd in.
And out of the shadows of gloom and night,
They enter the mansion of peace and light.
[A TRIBUTE.]
My heart that otherwise was glad
(So much God gives to make it so)
This golden afternoon is sad
And troubled with another's woe;
And stranger that I am, I fain
Would send some solace for her pain.
My talks with Sorrow have been brief;
She touched my robe, in gliding by--
And when I've chanced to meet with Grief,
He's passed me with averted eye.
Yet, through another's pain, I see
Sometimes a glimpse of what may be.
And of all griefs that mortals know--
Of all that pierce the human heart,
There seems to me no other woe
Like that which rends the soul apart,
When a fond mother sees death's night
Sealing an infant's eyes of light.
The babe endeared by pangs and fears
That she has suffered for its sake,
The babe she watched above with tears,
Or sat through lonely nights, awake.
And sang some tender lullaby--
And all for this--to see it die.