Poems (Barker)/To Eva

by Alice J. Green Barker

To Eva.

Into some lives the rain-drops fall
 Silently, sadly, day by day,
While others are glad with the tranquil sun,
'Till the last few grains from the glass have run,
 And the soul has slipped away.

Your life, dear child, has its sun and shade,
 Its little tempests, its vexing care;
But the rain-drops wash all the dust and heat,
Away from the path that awaits your feet,
 And the sky again is fair.

And yet each year, as it slips away,
 Touches your brow with its fairy wand,
And a purer image stamps your face
And lends to your spirit its own sweet grace,
 Like a joy of the far beyond.

And we who love you with constant love,
 Still pray for the sun to be glad and fair,
That your way be bathed in a glow of light,
That into your presence may come no night—
 No darkness nor despair.

Each year, as it slips to its silent place,
 We pray may leave but a joy behind,
That only bright fancies and flowers sweet
May strew the way for your happy feet,
 That each cloud may be silver-lined.

And so to the end of a well spent life,
 'Till the silver has come to your sunny hair,
We pray that no shadow may dim the past,
And each year be happier than the last—
 That all may be glad and fair.