Page:Songs of the Affections.pdf/171

Rh

Thou hast seen partings, such as bear The bloom from life away— Alas! for love in changeful air, Where nought beloved can stay!

Here, by the restless bed of pain, The vigil hath been kept, Till sunrise, bright with hope in vain, Burst forth on eyes that wept: Here hath been felt the hush, the gloom, The breathless influence, shed Through the dim dwelling, from the room Wherein reposed the dead.

The seat left void, the missing face, Have here been mark'd and mourn'd, And time hath fill'd the vacant place, And gladness hath return'd; Till from the narrowing household chain The links dropp'd one by one!