Only a Year
Dublin Core
Title
Only a Year
Description
One year ago—a ringing voice,
Only a year—no voice, no smile,
One year ago—what loves, what schemes
The silent picture on the wall,
One year—one year—one little year,
The grave grows green, the flowers bloom fair
No pause or hush of merry birds
Where hast thou been this year, beloved?
The veil! the veil! so thin, so strong!
Not dead, not sleeping, not even gone:
Lord of the living and the dead,
A clear blue eye,
And clustering curls of sunny hair;Too fair to die!
Only a year—no voice, no smile,
No glance of eye,
No clustering curls of golden hair,Fair but to die!
One year ago—what loves, what schemes
Far into life!
What joyous hopes, what high resolvesWhat generous strife!
The silent picture on the wall,
The burial stone,—
Of all that beauty, life, and joy,Remain alone!
One year—one year—one little year,
And so much gone!
And yet the even flow of lifeMoves calmly on!
The grave grows green, the flowers bloom fair
Above that head;
No sorrowing tint of leaf or spraySays he is dead.
No pause or hush of merry birds
That sing above
Tells us how coldly sleeps belowThe form we love.
Where hast thou been this year, beloved?
What hast thou seen?
What visions fair, what glorious life,Where thou hast been?
The veil! the veil! so thin, so strong!
'Twixt me and thee;
The mystic veil! when shall it fallThat we may see?
Not dead, not sleeping, not even gone:
But present still,
And waiting for the coming hourOf God's sweet will.
Lord of the living and the dead,
Our Savior dear,
We lay in silence at Thy feetThis sad, sad year!
Creator
Mrs. H.B. Stowe (Harriet Beecher Stowe)
Source
1:26, p. 4
Date
1.14.1860
Collection
Citation
Mrs. H.B. Stowe (Harriet Beecher Stowe), “Only a Year,” Periodical Poets, accessed September 16, 2024, https://periodicalpoets.com/items/show/623.
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