FEARFULLY and mournfully Thou biddst the earth farewell; And yet thou'rt passing, loveliest one! In a brighter land to dwell. Ascend, ascend rejoicing! The sunshine of that shore Around thee, as a glorious robe, Shall stream forevermore. The breezy music wandering There through the Elysian sky, Hath no deep tone that seems to float From a happier time gone by. And there the day's last crimson Gives no sad memories birth, No thought of dead or distant friends, Or partings -- as on earth. Yet fearfully and mournfully Thou biddst that earth farewell, Although thou'rt passing, loveliest one! In a brighter land to dwell. A land where all is deathless -- The sunny wave's repose, The wood with its rich melodies, The summer and its rose: A land that sees no parting, That hears no sound of sighs, That waits thee with immortal air -- Lift, lift those anxious eyes! Oh! how like thee, thou trembler! Man's spirit fondly clings With timid love, to this, its world Of old familiar things! We pant, we thirst for fountains That gush not here below! On, on we toil, allured by dreams Of the living water's flow: We pine for kindred natures To mingle with our own; For communings more full and high Than aught by mortal known: We strive with brief asprings Against our bonds in vain; Yet summoned to be free at last, We shrink -- and clasp our chain; And fearfully and mournfully We bid the earth farewell, Though passing from its mists, like thee, In a brighter world to dwell. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...EPIGRAM: 45. ON MY FIRST SON by BEN JONSON SONNET: 53 by WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE ROGER'S SONG, FR. MIDSUMMER EVE by GORDON BOTTOMLEY THE BELOVED by KATHERINE HARRIS BRADLEY THE CHEVALIER'S LAMENT by ROBERT BURNS |