Page:Songs of the Affections.pdf/171

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THE RUIN.
163


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!