Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, ON AN INFANT'S DEATH, by ANONYMOUS


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

ON AN INFANT'S DEATH, by                    
First Line: A little life
Subject(s): Death - Children; Death - Babies


A LITTLE life,
Five summer months of gladness
Without one cloud of sorrow, sin, or strife,
Cut short by sudden gloom and wintry sadness.

A little mound
By buttress gray defended,
Watered with tears and garlanded all round,
By loving hands affectionately tended.

A little cot,
Empty, forlorn, forsaken,
Silent remembrancer that he is not,—
Gone—past our voice to lull, or kiss to waken.

A little frock
He wore, a hat that shaded
His innocent brow, seen with a sudden shock
Of grief for that dear form so quickly faded.

A little flower,
Because he touched it cherished,
Fragile memorial of one happy hour
Before the beauty of our blossom perished.

A little hair,
Secured with trembling fingers,
All that is left us of our infant fair,
All we shall see of him while this life lingers.

A little name,
In parish records written,
A passing sympathy to claim
From other fathers for a father smitten.

But a great trust
Irradiates our sorrow,
That though to-day his name is writ in dust,
We shall behold it writ in heaven to-morrow.

And a great peace
Our troubled soul possesses,
That though to embrace him these poor arms must cease,
Our lamb lies folded in the Lord's caresses.

A little pain,
To point his life's brief story.
A few hours' mortal weariness, to gain
Unutterable rest and endless glory.

A little prayer,
By lips Divine once spoken,
"Thy will be done!" is breathed into the air
From hearts submissive, though with accents broken.

A little while,
And Time no more shall sever;
But we shall see him with his own sweet smile,
And clasp our darling in our arms forever!





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net