Poetry. SHALL WE MOURN FOR THE DEAD? Shall we mourn for the dead, shall we sorrow for those Who are called from their mansions of clay, Who have done with the world, with its trials and woes And its joys blooming but to decay? Yes, yes, we will mourn, if the hope be withheld, That a fitness for death had been given; If their views were confined to the things they beheld, And rarely looked onward to heaven. But if it were theirs on the hope to lay hold, That in Jesus is offered to all, For ourselves we may weep as the day we behold; But for them not a tear-drop shall fall.—Anon. THE MOTHER'S COMFORT. I had a son, a little son, his age I cannot tell, For they reckon not by years or months where he is gone to dwell: To us far less than four short years, his infant smiles were given, And then he bade farewell to earth, and went to live in Heaven. I cannot tell what form is his, what looks he weareth now, Nor guess how bright a glory crowns his shining seraph brow: The thoughts which fill his sinless soul, the bliss which he doth feel, Are numbered with the secret things which God will not reveal; But I know, for God doth tell me this, that he is now at rest, Where other blessed infants be, in their Saviour's loving breast. I know his spirit feels no more, this weary load of flesh, But his sleep is blest with endless dreams of joy for ever fresh ; I know the angels fold him close beneath their glittering wings, And soothe him with a song that breathes of Heaven's divinest things. I know that we shall meet our babe, his father dear, and I, Where God for aye, shall wipe away all tears from every eye. Whate'er befals us here below, his life can never cease, Our lot may here be grief and care,—but his is certain peace. When we think of what our darling is, and what we still may be, When we muse on that world's perfect bliss, and this world's misery; When we groan beneath this load of sin, and feel this grief and pain, Oh! we'd rather give up every thing than have him back again.—Moultrie. A MOTHER'S DIRGE OVER HER CHILD. Bring me flowers, all young and sweet, That I my strew the winding sheet, Where calm thou sleepest baby fair, With roseless cheeks, and auburn hair! Bring me the rosemary, whose breath Bring cypress from some sunless spot, Oh, what upon this earth doth prove So steadfast as a mother's love! Oh! what on earth can bring relief, Or solace to a mother's grief! |