Poems (Welby)/I Weep Not

by Amelia Welby

"I WEEP NOT."

  I weep not as I wept
  When first they laid thee low;
My sorrow all too deep is kept
  To melt like common wo;
  Nor do my lips e'er part
  With whispers of thy name,
But thou art shrined in this hushed heart,
  And that is all the same.

  I could be happy now,
  Had memory flown with thee,
But I still hear a whisper low,
  And memory will not flee;
  A whisper that doth tell
  Of thee, and thee alone,
A memory, like the ocean-shell,
  For ever making moan.

  For how can I forget
  Thine eye of softest brown,
With its pale lid, just touched with jet,
  And always drooping down;
  And thy sweet form of grace,
  That went to rest too soon,
And the turning up of thy young face
  Beneath the placid moon!

  I sometimes think thy hand
  Is on my forehead prest,
And almost feel thy tresses, fanned
  Across my beating breast,
  And catch the sunny flow
  Of thy mantle on the air,
And turn to see if it is so—
  Alas! thou art not there!

  And I wander out alone
  Beside the singing rills,
When nothing but the wind's low tone
  Comes stealing down the hills;
  And while along the deep
  The moonbeams softly shine,
My silent soul goes forth to keep
  Its blessed tryste with thine.

  I weep not though thou'rt laid
  In such a lone dark place,
Thou, who didst live without a shade,
  To cloud thy sweet young face;
  For now thy spirit sings
  Where angel-ones have trod,
Veiling their faces 'neath their wings
  Around the throne of God.

  Thy faults were slight and few
  As human faults could be,
And thy virtues were as many too,
  As gems beneath the sea;
  And thy thoughts did heavenward roam
  Until, like links of gold,
They drew thee up to thy blue home
  Within the Saviour's fold.