Soon close; where passed the shaft no trace is
As from the wing no scar the sky retains,
The parted wave no furrow from the keel,
So dies in human hearts the thought of death:
Even with the tender tear which nature sheds
O'er those we love, we drop it in their grave.
THE EVENING STAR.
STAR of the evening! how I love to mark
Thy beam thus gleaming tremulously bright,
Upon the ocean wave! How brightly dark
Shines thy lone ray, thou herald of the night!
Thou lovely star! methinks thy gentle ray
Speaketh of rest beyond our hour of time,
And seemeth to invite the soul away
To seek for refuge in a happier clime.
NAY, shrink not from the word "Farewell! " As if 'twere friendship's final knell,
Such fears may prove in vain : So changeful is life's fleeting day, Whene'er we sever, hope may say We part to meet again.
E'en the last parting earth can know
Brings not unutterable woe
To souls that heavenward soar;
For humble faith, with stedfast eye,
Points to a brighter world on high,
Where hearts that here at parting sigh,
May meet to part no more.
"EARTH to earth, and dust to dust!"
Here the evil and the just;
Here the youthful and the old;
Here the fearful and the bold;
Here the matron and the maid
In one silent bed are laid;
Here the vassal and the king
Side by side lie withering;
Here the sword and sceptre rust,
"Earth to earth, and dust to dust!"
Age on age shall roll along
O'er this pale and mighty throng;
Those that wept them, those that weep,
All shall with these sleepers sleep,
Brothers, sisters, of the worm;
Summer's sun or winter's storm,
Song of peace, or battle's war,
Ne'er shall break their slumbers more.
Death shall keep his sullen trust,"Earth to earth, and dust to dust!"
But a day is coming fast,
Earth, thy mightiest and thy last!
It shall come in fear and wonder,
Heralded by trump and thunder;
It shall come in strife and toil,
It shall come in blood and spoil.
It shall come in empire's groans,
Burning temples, trampled thrones,
Then, ambition, rue thy lust,—
"Earth to earth, and dust to dust!"
Then shall come the judgment sign:
In the east the King shall shine,
Flashing from heaven's golden gate,
Thousands, thousands, round his state:
Spirits with the crown and plume;— ·
Tremble, then, thou silent tomb!
Heaven shall open in our sight,
Earth be turned to living light,
Kingdom of the ransomed just!-
"Earth to earth, and dust to dust!"
Then thy mount, Jerusalem,
Shall be gorgeous as a gem;
Then shall in the desert rise
Fruits of more than paradise,
And the earth again be trod,
One great garden of her God!
Till are dried the martyr's tears,
Through a thousand glorious years;
Now in hope of Him we trust,-
"Earth to earth, and dust to dust!"
THIS place is holy ground:
World, with thy cares away!
Silence and darkness reign around,
But lo! the break of day:
What bright and sudden dawn appears
To shine upon this scene of years!
"Tis not the morning light
That makes the lark to sing;
"Tis not a meteor of the night,
Nor track of angel's wing:
It is an uncreated beam
Like that which shone on Jacob's dream.
Eternity and time
Met for a moment here;
From earth to heaven, a scale sublime
Rested on either sphere,
Whose steps a saintly figure trod,
By death's cold hand led home to God.
Far, far above the pole,
On wings of mounting fire,
Faith may pursue the enfranchised soul,
But soon her pinions tire:
It is not given to mortal man
Eternal mysteries to scan.
Bury the dead, and weep
In stillness o'er their loss;
Bury the dead—in Christ they sleep
Who bore on earth his cross,
And from the grave their dust shall rise
In his own image to the skies.
In its true light this transient scene regard:
This is a state of trial, not reward.
Though rough the passage, peaceful is the port,
The bliss is perfect, the probation short.
Of human wit beware,-the fatal pride,-
A useful follower, but a dangerous guide;
On holy faith's aspiring pinions rise;
Assert your birthright, and assume the skies.
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