Poems (Holmes)/Farewell to my Native Land
Farewell to my Native Land.
Farewell to the cottage, the garden and flowers,
Where oft in my childhood passed frolicksome hours;
Farewell to the meadow, the brook and the trees,
Where the music of birds is borne on the breeze;
Farewell to the lane, the green hill-side and glen,
Whose paths I have trodden again and again;
Farewell, dear companions, so joyous and gay,
For, alas! I must go away, far away.
Farewell to the schoolhouse, and the church with its bell,
That echoes so sweetly o'er vale, hill, and dell;
Farewell, holy ground, where my kindred do sleep,
May angels the brightest a watch o'er it keep;
Farewell, dearest friends, first loved of my heart,
For the changing of time now bids us to part.
E'en though we are severed, let this be our trust,
That again we shall meet in the realms of the just.
Where oft in my childhood passed frolicksome hours;
Farewell to the meadow, the brook and the trees,
Where the music of birds is borne on the breeze;
Farewell to the lane, the green hill-side and glen,
Whose paths I have trodden again and again;
Farewell, dear companions, so joyous and gay,
For, alas! I must go away, far away.
Farewell to the schoolhouse, and the church with its bell,
That echoes so sweetly o'er vale, hill, and dell;
Farewell, holy ground, where my kindred do sleep,
May angels the brightest a watch o'er it keep;
Farewell, dearest friends, first loved of my heart,
For the changing of time now bids us to part.
E'en though we are severed, let this be our trust,
That again we shall meet in the realms of the just.