GOING AND COMING.
121
Home!
When the word went down to that hell of war,
And the fetid walls where the prisoners slept,
God! what a shout rang near and far
And up to the listening heavens swept!
Eyes that were dry mid the groans of death,
Hearts unawed by the bullet and sword,
Grew dim and soft with the whispered breath,
And melted in tears at the well-known word.
When the word went down to that hell of war,
And the fetid walls where the prisoners slept,
God! what a shout rang near and far
And up to the listening heavens swept!
Eyes that were dry mid the groans of death,
Hearts unawed by the bullet and sword,
Grew dim and soft with the whispered breath,
And melted in tears at the well-known word.
Home!
Many had reached it long ago,
Not the place that our hearts had planned,—
The fireside rest that their feet should know,
Who came to us back from the direful land,—
But a sweeter rest which never shall cease—
Than the deepest depths of our love could give,
Where God Himself is the light of Peace,
And the ransomed soldiers of freedom live.
Many had reached it long ago,
Not the place that our hearts had planned,—
The fireside rest that their feet should know,
Who came to us back from the direful land,—
But a sweeter rest which never shall cease—
Than the deepest depths of our love could give,
Where God Himself is the light of Peace,
And the ransomed soldiers of freedom live.
