Poems (Denver)/The Graves of a Household
THE GRAVES OF A HOUSEHOLD.
Peace! peace to her slumbers! she too is at rest,
Where her heart shall know sorrow no more;
We have placed, sadly placed the green sod on her breast,
As we laid it on others before;
Yet afar are the graves of our own kindred band,
And the soft tears of sorrow we shed,
As our thoughts sadly fly to a far distant land,
Where slumber our earlier dead!
Where her heart shall know sorrow no more;
We have placed, sadly placed the green sod on her breast,
As we laid it on others before;
Yet afar are the graves of our own kindred band,
And the soft tears of sorrow we shed,
As our thoughts sadly fly to a far distant land,
Where slumber our earlier dead!
O! fair isle of Erin! thou emerald isle,
To our hearts is thy memory dear,
Though our lips have forgot their accustomed smile,
And our eyes since shed many a tear.
We have treasured a thousand kindred ties,
We .have dream'd of thy skies of blue,
We have thought of thy children's affectionate eyes,
And their high deeds of daring too.
To our hearts is thy memory dear,
Though our lips have forgot their accustomed smile,
And our eyes since shed many a tear.
We have treasured a thousand kindred ties,
We .have dream'd of thy skies of blue,
We have thought of thy children's affectionate eyes,
And their high deeds of daring too.
O say! does the footstep yet linger in love,
Does a kind hand still strew the sweet flowers,
Do the stars look lovingly down from above,
On those far distant graves of ours?
They are ours forever, though years have passed by
Since we gazed on that island of green;
They are ours forever, though many and high
Are the waves that roll darkly between.
Does a kind hand still strew the sweet flowers,
Do the stars look lovingly down from above,
On those far distant graves of ours?
They are ours forever, though years have passed by
Since we gazed on that island of green;
They are ours forever, though many and high
Are the waves that roll darkly between.
O! sad was the hour when we bade thee adieu,
Where our brothers yet tranquilly sleep,
"When over the waters our gallant ship flew,
As if proud of her home on the deep.
Yet our hearts, as we thought on those desolate graves,
Still sadder and heavier grew,
When beneath us was nought but an ocean of waves,
Nought above but an ocean of blue.
Where our brothers yet tranquilly sleep,
"When over the waters our gallant ship flew,
As if proud of her home on the deep.
Yet our hearts, as we thought on those desolate graves,
Still sadder and heavier grew,
When beneath us was nought but an ocean of waves,
Nought above but an ocean of blue.
But a few days had passed, when we stood on the deck
While the daylight's first blushes were born;
Above us, in heaven, not even a speck
Disturbed the calm beauty of morn;
Yet sadly we gazed on that heaven of blue,
And mournfully down on the deep,
As on, like a sea-bird, our gallant ship flew,
Scarce waking the waves from their sleep.
While the daylight's first blushes were born;
Above us, in heaven, not even a speck
Disturbed the calm beauty of morn;
Yet sadly we gazed on that heaven of blue,
And mournfully down on the deep,
As on, like a sea-bird, our gallant ship flew,
Scarce waking the waves from their sleep.
For death was among us: the young and the gay
Lay down in their beauty and died;
And we grieved that the ocean should claim them her prey,
As they peacefully slept side by side.
But the plunges that followed, the white forms that sped
Far down to the depths of the sea,
Will haunt us forever, like ghosts of the dead,
Wherever our wanderings may be.
Lay down in their beauty and died;
And we grieved that the ocean should claim them her prey,
As they peacefully slept side by side.
But the plunges that followed, the white forms that sped
Far down to the depths of the sea,
Will haunt us forever, like ghosts of the dead,
Wherever our wanderings may be.
Green island! thou boldest our earliest graves,
As thou knewest our earliest woes;
And within your far depths, O! magnificent waves,
As many loved calmy repose;
And the murmuring streams of the far-spreading West
Have mingled our griefs with their own,
As we, exiles, the turf laid on exiled breasts,
And left them to slumber alone!
As thou knewest our earliest woes;
And within your far depths, O! magnificent waves,
As many loved calmy repose;
And the murmuring streams of the far-spreading West
Have mingled our griefs with their own,
As we, exiles, the turf laid on exiled breasts,
And left them to slumber alone!
The graves of a household!—O! separate far
Do the dead of our household repose;
Yet Hope o'er those graves, like the light of a star,
Its beam of intelligence throws.
Do the dead of our household repose;
Yet Hope o'er those graves, like the light of a star,
Its beam of intelligence throws.
We know not how long till the dawn of that day
When the dead shall be ours again;
But we know that the ocean shall yield up her prey,
And the earth strive to hide it in vain.
When the dead shall be ours again;
But we know that the ocean shall yield up her prey,
And the earth strive to hide it in vain.
