Page:Poems of home and country (IA poemsofhomecount01smit).pdf/162



June 6, 1857, for the dedication of Newton Cemetery; also sung at dedication of Rose Hill Cemetery, Chicago, Ill.

EEP 'mid these dim and silent shades

The slumbering dead shall lie,

Tranquil as summer evening fades

Along the western sky.

The whispering winds shall linger here

To lull their deep repose,—

Like music on the dewy air,

Like nightfall on the rose.

Light through the twining boughs shall shed

Its calm and cheerful ray,

As hope springs from the dying bed

And points to perfect day.

Around each funeral urn shall cling

The fairest, freshest flowers,—

Emblem of heaven's eternal spring,

And brighter lands than ours.

Gathered from thousand homes, the dust

In soft repose shall lie,

Like garnered seed in holy trust

For immortality.

Room for the households! till the morn

Its glories shall restore,

And on the silent sleepers dawn

The day that fades no more.