Page:Poems Acton.djvu/22

Soon must I bend to death, Mother,
 Yet while I linger on,
Let the sunshine of thy love, Mother,
 Be turned thy child upon.
For I could not seek my grave, Mother,
 Without a parting word,
To tell me ere we part, Mother,
 How thy slighted child has erred!
Oh! is it that thine eyes, Mother,
 Are fondly bent on mine?
Oh! is it that my hand, Mother,
 Is wildly clasped in thine?
Oh! is it that thy voice, Mother,
 Falls kindly on mine ear?
My heart will break with joy, Mother,
 Those cherished tones to hear!
Oh! mourn not that I die, Mother,
 That heart would sink with care,
If I should seek thy face, Mother,
 And find a shadow there.
Thy treasured smiles of love, Mother,
 Around me now have played;
I fain would pass away, Mother,
 Before those smiles can fade.
My eye is growing dim, Mother,
 My heart is growing cold,
My life is ebbing fast, Mother,
 My earthly days are told.