And, as he lay in death's embrace, You saw when last on earth he smil'd; You saw the ray that lit his face When he beheld our darling child.—
Strange, mingled scene of bliss and pain! That, like a dream, before us flies; Where, 'midst illusions false and vain, Substantial joys are seen to rise.—
When to your heart our babes you fold, With all a mother's joy elate, I fondly think that I behold A vision of our future state.
Hope comes, with balmy influence fraught, To heal the wound that rends my heart, Whene'er it meets the dreadful thought That all our earthly ties must part.
Bless'd hope, beyond earth's narrow space, Within high Heaven's eternal bound, Again to see your angel face, With all your cherubs clustering round.
Oh! yes, there are some beams of light That break upon this world below, So pure, so steady, and so bright, They seem from better worlds to flow.
Reflected images are seen Upon this transient stream of Time, Through mists and shades that intervene, Of things eternal and sublime.
Then let us rightly learn to know These heavenly messengers of love: They teach us whence true pleasures flow, And win our thoughts to joys above.
And e'en when clouds roll o'er our head, Still let us turn our longing eyes To where Eternal Love has spread The changeless azure of the skies.