Not Lost Forever

Not Lost Forever

Not lost forever, though on earth we’ve parted;

Not lost forever, though we meet no more:

They do not wander lone and broken hearted

Who see Heaven’s radiance on the further shore.

Not lost forever! every gentle token,

That memory wins me from the far away.

Shall fill my soul, though all our ties are broken.

With tender grace that never can decay.

Not lost forever while around me springing,

The violets weep, the roses blush and bloom;

And summer birds in summer woodlands singing.

Flood with soft music all the tranquil gloom.

There will be meaning in the stars, the flowers,

The grand and solemn voices of the sea,

Telling of happy dreams and happy hours,

Of life and sunshine, which it caught from thee.

Not lost forever! thou shalt still be near me,

Through every fortune, and in every clime;

When cares oppress, or gentle memories cheer me,

Thou shalt be with me, dearest, all the time!

Unattributed

1:13, p. 4

10.26.1861