Page:The Domestic Affections, and Other Poems.pdf/176



Descend, blest Faith! dispel the hopeless care, And chase the gathering phantoms of despair! Tell, that the flow'r, transplanted in its morn, In joy’s bright Eden, freed from every thorn; Expands to milder suns, and softer dews; The full perfection of immortal hues! Tell, that when mounting to her native skies, By death releas'd, the parent-spirit flies; There shall the child, in anguish mourn'd so long, With rapture hail her, 'midst the cherub-throng; And guide her pinion, on exulting flight, Thro' glory's boundless realms, and worlds of living light!

Ye gentle spirits of departed friends! If e'er on earth your buoyant wing descends; If, with benignant care, ye linger near, To guard the objects in existence dear; If hov'ring o'er, ethereal band! ye view The tender sorrows, to your memory true;