WHY shouldst thou fear the beautiful angel, Death, Who waits thee at the portals of the skies, Ready to kiss away thy struggling breath, Ready with gentle hand to close thine eyes? How many a tranquil soul has passed away, Fled gladly from fierce pain and pleasures dim, To the eternal splendor of the day; And many a troubled heart still calls for him. Spirits too tender for the battle here Have turned from life, its hopes, its fears, its charms; And children, shuddering at a word so drear, Have smiling passed away into his arms. He whom thou fearest will, to ease its pain, Lay his cold hand upon thy aching heart: Will soothe the terrors of thy troubled brain, And bid the shadow of earth's grief depart. He will give back what neither time, nor might, Nor passionate prayer, nor longing hope restore, (Dear as to long-blind eyes recovered sight,) He will give back those who are gone before. O, what were life, if life were all? Thine eyes Are blinded by their tears, or thou wouldst see Thy treasures wait thee in the far-off skies. And Death, thy friend, will give them all to thee. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...ATELIER CEZANNE by CLARENCE MAJOR THE WIND IN A FROLIC by WILLIAM HOWITT THE HOUSE OF LIFE: 19. SILENT NOON by DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI SONNET: HENRY HOWARD BROWNELL by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH THE LAND OF THE GIANTS by WILLIAM ROSE BENET HOME, SWEET HOME WITH VARIATIONS: 2. ALGERNON CHARLES SWINBURNE by HENRY CUYLER BUNNER |