Poems (Hoffman)/A Dream Picture (I dreamed of one who just had died)
A DREAM PICTURE.
I dreamed of one who just had died,Sweet mercy painted o'er the past;And evermore I see her lastRisen immortal, glorified.She stood—a cloud beneath her feet—Her countenance divinely sweet;Her robes were draperies of white,Her hair an aureole of light.She sang, and oh! I heard as hereThe same dear voice, more rich, more clear.Yet, as if seeing all the wrong,And sin, and sadness of mankind,Her calm eyes gazed across the worldOf sorrows she had left behind;And all that look, that voice, that songFull of sweet earnestness to saveThat lost world from its wrong.I see that picture hanging stillOn Memory's walls, a thing sublime;I know it cannot fade untilI close my eyes on scenes of time;And yet I wish some artist's handMight paint her life-sized portrait, justAs in that dream she came to meRisen immortal from the dust.That all the world might look and see,The careless world of jests and songs,How angels gaze upon their wrongs;How heaven bends over earth to save,And love uprisen from the graveCan sing for earth no song besideA saviour—Christ for man has died,And risen, immortal, glorified.