These hands, worn thin by many years of toil, No more give back the answering touch of life ... They lie at rest. Beautiful brown hair! Let my fingers smooth it back again, This one last time more ... I wonder if you may not know that we are near, Though now your eyes be heavy with Death's sleep! How well you lived your years! How full of victory your days! And at the end peace ... Toil, tears, disappointments, pain, These were your portion more than most, From earliest days of girlhood even to the end. Most denied what most desire, Yet possessing all things! You drew from bitter cup its bitterness, Turned life's tears to tenderness; The hard and harsh things felt your alchemy And gave you back patience and sympathy ... So did you travel the common roads In joy, Giving your all To God's employ; Your work is finished, The crown is won; And now you hear Your Lord's "Well done!"— Dear, blessed sister, I smooth back this lovely hair again, This one last time more ... And for your life, your faith, Your pure, white soul, I give God thanks ... And something tells me you are there Where you with Him will hear my prayer. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...MEDITATION ON A JUNE EVENING by CONRAD AIKEN GOAL by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON MONADNOCK IN EARLY SPRING by AMY LOWELL THE RAINY SEASON by CLARENCE MAJOR COUNTRYWOMEN by KATHERINE MANSFIELD JOHNNY APPLESEED by EDGAR LEE MASTERS SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: AMOS SIBLEY by EDGAR LEE MASTERS |