Poems (Dodd)/To the memory of a Friend
For works with similar titles, see To the memory of a Friend.
TO THE MEMORY OF A FRIEND.
Sweet sister, in life's promise vain our trust, Our ardent love was powerless to save;The beating of thy gentle heart is hushed, And autumn winds are sighing o'er thy grave.
O, never more shall spring thy heart rejoice; Thy treasured name is numbered with the dead;Hushed is the music of that happy voice, And from thine eye the light of love has fled.
I cannot realize a grief so deep, And oftentimes my doubting heart will deem,That I have laid me down to troubled sleep, And soon shall waken from this weary dream.
O, I had hoped ere many moons, to come And spend with thee some pleasant hours of life,To see thee in the quiet of thy home, A tender mother and devoted wife.
And he, the chosen of thy youthful years, How dark to him appears thine early fate;The fountain of his love is turned to tears, His home is sad, his heart is desolate.
Look up, thou mourner, to her blest abode, Where round the throne of God bright seraphs kneel,And bow submissive to the chastening rod, For he who wounds thee now will surely heal.
In that fair land, where blight can never fall, Far from the weary world's perplexing strife,There is a fount which freely flows, where all May drink the waters of eternal life.
Farewell, beloved friend, a long farewell! In Auburn's shades, O, peaceful be thy rest;The anguish of my heart these tears will tell; 'Tis selfish thus to mourn when thou art blest.