Poems (Barker)/I'm Afraid

by Alice J. Green Barker

I'm Afraid.

"Mother!" cried a dying boy,
 As he clasped her loving hand;
While the darkness round him fell,
 Shutting out the watching band;
"Mother, darling, hold me fast,
 And by your maternal aid,
I can better cross the stream;
 Hold me fast for I'm afraid."
  Soft and low her words were falling,
  O'er the stream her voice was calling;
  "Lean not on my earthly aid
  Jesus calls, be not afraid."

"Darling husband, nearer bend,
 I can scarcely see your face;
Hold me closer to your breast,
 In this mournful last embrace.
Come and scatter flowers bright,
 Where my form is lowly laid;
Do not, do not let me go,
 Darling husband I'm afraid."
  Soft and low his words were falling,
  O'er the stream his voice was calling;
  "Lean not on my earthly aid,
  Jesus calls, be not afraid."

"Gentle sister," cried a youth,
 "Through these years of grief and pain
You have always shared my lot,
 Helped to clear away each stain.
Now I feel the hand of death;
 See the monster all arrayed,
Hide me from his awful power,
 Sister keep me, I'm afraid.
  Soft and low her words were falling,
  O'er the stream her voice was calling;
  "Lean not on my earthly aid,
  Jesus calls, be not afraid."

All thy terrors, dreaded death,
 All thy pain seems swept away;
By the thought that Jesus stands
 Nearer than thou ever may.
Even when thy call is heard,
 And in all thy state arrayed,
Steals the Savior's loving voice,
 "It is I, be not afraid."
  Soft and low His accents falling,
  To our tired spirit calling;
  "Lean upon my Heavenly aid,
  It is I, be not afraid."