Classic Poem

Those tender ties are sundered now,—
This heart is doomed to die;
Vain is the oft-repeated vow,
And vain the pensive sigh;
The morning breaks so lone and sad
Upon my wakeful eye,
And I have none to make me glad
Beneath the sunlit sky.

O! tell me where sweet comfort flows,
And where the cheering beams?
Sweet solace for these latent woes,
And living crystal streams?
And where is love, unchanging love,
Love that can never die?
Not on this earth; 'tis formed above,
In fairer climes on high!

Once I had love, so pure and fair,
With all its blissful charms,
A youthful heart mine own to share,
And soft enfolding arms,
And ruby lips, and flashing eyes,
And light and nectar flowed
Whene'er we met beneath those skies
Which o'er us brightly glowed.

In sheltered nook, in balmy grove,
At noon or eve we met,
And revelled there in bliss of love
With evening dewdrops wet;
Beneath the spreading chestnut tree,
Or where the beech ran high,
With foliage gay, so dear to me,
Fraught with the wild wind's sigh.

And near us flowed a crystal stream,
Which murmured music sweet,
And foaming cascade 'neath the beam
Of sunset, near our feet;
And when the moon's pale lustre shone
The shadows flitted by
Of those whose day of toil was done,
Who passed with pensive sigh.

And near us lay the sleeping dead
In graveyard fresh and green,
The stalwart form, the weary head,
The clay-cold sod between:
The old church clock oft told the hour
With half a parting knell,
While Love, with its own magic power,
Fast bound us with its spell!

And in that grand old church our vow
Was heard and firmly sealed
One Sabbath morn, as fair as now,
And mutual love revealed!
Nor years which passed e'er broke the charm
Which bound us firm through life,
Till chilly Death with potent arm
Out short the mortal strife!

Those tender ties are sundered now,
Though love can never die;
Cold are those lips and placid brow,
And ceased that pensive sigh:
They tell me I shall live again
In union sweet and blest,
Far from the reach of toil and pain,
Where weary spirits rest!

But rest, alas! can ne'er be mine
Whilst storms and tempests blow,
Save when the love and peace divine
Into this heart shall flow,—
When Hope blooms fair and sheds its ray
Beyond the silent tomb,
And cloud and mist are chased away,
And banished far this gloom.

My treasure lies in Heaven above,
Beyond this changeful sky,
Where every heart beats warm with love,
And bliss can never die:
When weary is thought's wing for flight
Through circumambient air,
I look for rest where all is Light,
And never shadow there!