Town and Country, page 129 by John S. Adams
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he horizon, Telling thee truly, "There's hope for thee yet." This earth may look dull, old friends may forsake thee; Sorrows that never before thou hast met May roll o'er thy head; yet that bright star before thee Shines to remind thee "there's hope for thee yet." 'T is but folly to mourn, though fortune disdain thee, Though never so darkly thy sun may have set; 'T is wisdom to gaze at the bright star before thee, And shout, as you gaze, "There's hope for me yet."
SOLILOQUY OVER THE GRAVE OF A WIFE.
IT cannot be that thou art dead; that now I watch beside thy grave, and with my tears Nourish the flowers that blossom over thee; I cannot think that thou art dead and gone; That naught remains to me of what thou wert, Save that which lieth here,--dust unto dust. When the bright sun arises, and its rays Pass noiseless through my chamber, then methinks That thou art with me still; that I can see Thy flowing hair; and thy bright glancing eye Beams on me with a look none other can. And when at noon life's busy tumult makes My senses reel, and I almost despair, Thou comest to me and I'm cheered again; Thine own bright smile illuminates my way, And one by one the gathered clouds depart, Till not a shadow lies upon my path. Night, with its long and sombre shadows, treads Upon the steps that morn and noon have trod; And, as our children gather round my knee, And lisp those evening prayers thy lips have taught, I cannot but believe that thou art near. But when they speak of "mother," when they say "'T is a long time since she hath left our side," And when they ask, in their soft infant tones, When they again shall meet thee,--then I feel A sudden sadness o'er my spirit come: And when sleep holds them in its silken bands I wander here, to this fair spot they call Thy grave (as though this feeble earth could hold Thee in its cold embrace), and weep and sigh; Yet, trusting, look above to yon bright sphere, And feel thou art not dead, but living there. It is not thou that fills this spot of earth, It is no