Oh, God, in Thy blessed kingdom
No lips shall ever say,
No ears shall ever hearken.
To the words "I am going away."
For no soul ever wearies
Of the dear, bright, angel band,
And no saint ever wanders,
From the sunny, golden land.
1872
[GOOD BYE]
He rose, and passing, paused by her.
They stood a moment in the door.
His dark eyes made her pulses stir
As they had never stirred before;
How soft the night bird sang above
The dull brown heath. Oh, Life, Oh, Love!
He took her hand, and said "Good bye."
Then, singing blithely, went across
The sodden fields: nor heard the cry
Her heart sent up, nor knew her loss.
How bleak, and wild, and desolate,
The wind blew down. Oh, Love, Oh, Fate!
The west turned suddenly aflame;
Striped here and there with blue and gold.
She shook with chills she could not name.
The air seemed strangely harsh, and cold.
How keen the winds were, and how rife
With wintry sounds. Oh, Love, Oh, Life!
She waited till she saw him pass
Across the meadow, out of sight.
His shadow fell upon the grass;
The winds were talking of the night.
How high they whirled the withered leaf;
How swift it flew. Oh, Love, Oh, Grief.
She shut the door, and turned away.
Some task was waiting for her hand.
She shut another door, where lay,
Her sweet dead hope. You understand.
"And they shall weep no more," God saith,
"Nor taste of pain." Oh, Life, Oh, Death.
[JAMIE]
In through the kitchen, the boys came trooping:
Will, and Sammy, and Bob and Fred,
And Johnny and Jamie, the twins, came after,
Setting the rafters, a-ring with laughter.
Woe for the words I said!
I looked at the floor I had swept and dusted,
And saw the litter the twelve feet brought;
And I sighed, and frowned, on the six bright blossoms,
And frowning, spoke my thought.