Poems (Emma M. Ballard Bell)/Little Lillie
LITTLE LILLIE.
Gently sunset's golden shadow With a glory soft and mild,On the lowly couch was streaming Of a little dying child.
But she did not see the sunlight Gleaming from the western skies;For the light had long since faded From her once bright, beaming eyes.
By the bedside sat the mother, Clasping Lillie's thin, white hand,While in gentle tones she told her Of the far-off better land.
By a window stood the cradle, Where a little brother slept;And a fair and dark-eyed sister, By the cradle knelt and wept.
"Take me in your arms, my mother," Then the little maiden said,"With your kind hand gently resting Once again upon my head.
"Place it lightly, O my mother, On my weary, aching brow;Oh, I soon must leave you, mother, Death is stealing o'er me now.
"It hath seemed a long night, mother, Since I saw the light of day;Is there any night, dear mother, In that land so far away?
"Tell me, O my gentle mother! Tell me, in that better landWill the holy, white-robed angels Come and take me by the hand?
"Oh, my spirit sees them coming! And their brows are crowned with light,And they whisper, oh, so softly! That in heaven there'll be no night.
"Gentle sister, thou art weeping, Though I cannot see thy tears;Do not grieve for me, my sister, For my spirit feels no fears.
"Farewell, mother, sister, brother; When in heaven we all unite,I with spirit-eyes shall see you, And in heaven there'll be no night."
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In the quiet village churchyard Is a little mossy grave,And the branches of a willow Sad and silent o'er it wave.
There is sleeping little Lillie, While upon her tombstone whiteAre her dying words engraven,— "And in heaven there'll be no night."