A gentle loving thoughtful boy,
But happy gay and bright:
A gleam of sunshine from the sky
That filled a home with light.
And whether busied with his play
Throughout the passing summer day,
Or sleepless in the night
A simple song by children sung,
For ever in his memory rung,
Found gleeful utterance from his tongue
And filled him with delight –
“Jesus loves me – He will stay
Close beside me all the way.”
But now across the morning sky
The shade of night has rolled –
Lay all his little playthings by,
His hands are still and cold.
His loving eyes once bright as day
Are turning to their former clay –
No more:- the tale is told:
The soul has left that pulseless breast
For regions of eternal rest.
Ay but to die – a child, alone
Without a guard or guide
To launch into the vast unknown
Where shapeless phantoms glide,
To cross the gulf no bridge can span
To realms unseen by living man
All strange and yet untried.
With no familiar loved one near
To charm away his childish fear,
And give him one soft word of cheer
To break the dreary void.
Alas! conjecture seems to swim
And reason waxes faint and dim,
But faith affirms ’tis well with him
Whatever may betide.
Jesus loves him – He will stay
Close beside him all the way.
(February, 1879.)
(Joseph Furphy)
More Poetry from Joseph Furphy:
Joseph Furphy Poems based on Topics: Light, Morning, Night, Home, Fear, Soul, Eternity, Jesus Christ- The Death Of President Lincoln (Joseph Furphy Poems)
- Brahm (Joseph Furphy Poems)
- The Schoolhouse On The Plain (Joseph Furphy Poems)
- A Psalm Of Councel (Joseph Furphy Poems)
- A Psalm Of Resignation (Joseph Furphy Poems)
- The Gumsucker's Dirge (Joseph Furphy Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Night Poems, Light Poems, Soul Poems, Home Poems, Fear Poems, Jesus Christ Poems, Morning Poems, Eternity PoemsBased on Keywords: affirms
- Book III - Part 03 - The Soul is Mortal (Lucretius Poems)
- The Golden Legend: VI. The School Of Salerno (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Poems)
- Of The Nature Of Things: Book II - Part 03 - Atomic Forms And Their Combinations (Lucretius Poems)
- The Celt's Paradise. Third Duan (John Banim Poems)
- Of The Nature Of Things: Book V - Part 04 - Formation Of The World (Lucretius Poems)