Fugitive Poetry. 1600–1878/Gloamin'

Gloamin'.

"At evening time it shall be light."

 

"My day is dippin' in the West, 'tis gleamin' wi' me noo,I hear the sough o' Jordan's wave, that I maun travel through;Yet 'tisna Jordan's wave I fear, nor tremble at the strife,But, oh! this sunderin' o' hearts, this leavin' weans an' wife.

"What though we ken o' better things, a fairer world abune,Where lost frien's are awaiting us, an' a' maun follow sune;This rendin' o' the siller strings, that tether heart to heart—Oh! it tries puir human nature sair, an' maks us laith to part.

"Gae rax me bye the Bible, wife, while yet I'm fit to see,Ere death creep o'er my cauldrife back, and flap my failiu' e'e;An' let us sing a pairtin' sang afore we sundered be,For ye canna ha'e me lang noo, I ha'ena lang to dree.

"There, pit the pillow to my back, an' ease me up a wee,An' bring them a' to my bedside to see their faither dee:Noo, raise the Bible up a thocht, it's ower laigh on my knee;An' shift the licht a kennin' back, it's ower strong for my e'e."

He waled, he sang the pairtin' sang—his voice was firm an' clear—An' read the fourteenth o' St. John, nor did he shed a tear:Sae is it wi' the man o' God, when life's day's wark is dune,Nae future fears disturb his mind, nae ruefu' looks behin'.

"Oh! but it gaes me great relief, the singing o' that sang,My clay is crumbling fast awa', my spirit noo grows strang:My wife, my weans, we a' maun pairt, so dinna sab sae sair,But dicht the tears frae aff you face, an' let us join in prayer

"An' let us join in prayer to Him that's wantin' me awa',That He may be a faithfu' Frien' an' Faither to ye a'."—He turned his glaizin' e'e to heaven, and raised his withered hand.Noo, safely through cauld Jordan's wave, he reached the better land.