Poems (Dodd)/One Departed
ONE DEPARTED."The beautiful is vanished, and returns not."
Come hither, see how peacefully she lies, Though round her pillow many tears are shed;Grief cannot chase the slumber from her eyes; Come nearer, but step softly, she is dead!O'er the pale sleeper let the dirge be sung,Mourn for the beautiful, the loved, the young!
So have we seen a white rose in its pride, With early blight upon its freshness laid,Or the pure lilly drooping by its side, For fairest flowers are ever first to fade;And the fond heart soon learns this saddening truthThat the most loved die in the bloom of youth.
No more, O love, when fondly drawing nigh With soothing words her sadness to beguile,To spare thee pain will she suppress the sigh, Or turn to bless thee with a patient smile:Long, wasting hours of weariness and pain,To the sweet sufferer ne'er can come again.
Released from earth, and borne on angel wing, To a fair land from every sorrow free,Sweet, welcome strains shall sister seraphs sing, Soon shall the crystal gates unclose for thee:O, gentle spirit! from thy heavenward track,Why should the heart desire to call thee back?
Blest are the early called, the youthful dead; Deep love waits round them till life's peaceful close;For them, the sigh is breathed, the tear is shed, And hallowed is the place of their repose;There will affection often come to weep,And with undying faith their memory keep.
Thou, whose fond eyes looked on her ripening bloom, And saw the spoiler steal the rose away;Thou, whose sad heart is buried in her tomb, Fear not, an arm of love is still her stay:In the dark vale the sinless Saviour trod,Trust thy beloved to the arms of God.
Yet weep, 'tis meet, when one so dear must die; Weep for the bird whose joyous song is o'erWeep for the lilly that in dust shall lie; Weep for the sunbeam that may shine no more.O'er the pale sleeper let the dirge be sung;Mourn for the beautiful, the loved, the young!