Poems (Acton)/On the Departure of some Relatives for Africa

ON THE DEPARTURE OF SOME RELATIVES FOR AFRICA. ——

Ye leave us, oh! beloved ones,
 In our anguish and our fear,
And vainly we shall listen
 Each cherished tone to hear.
No face will smile upon us,
 In all our sorrow lone,
For the silence of your household roof
 Will tell us ye are gone.

No footsteps lightly ringing
 Shall steal our senses o'er;
The voices we so dearly loved
 Must gladden us no more.
In vain each bright and smiling face
 We yearn to gaze upon;
For mem'ry to our aching hearts
 Will whisper, "Ye are gone."

Ye seek a strange and distant land—
 Another home afar;
And, oh! may peace with gentle ray,
 Be still your guiding star.

For mournfully, as in a dream,
 The time will linger on,
And our thoughts will haunt that foreign home
 When from us ye are gone!

Ye leave us—oh! beloved ones;
 But night and day our prayers
Will cling around the distant bark
 Our pilgrim-band that bears.

And oh! may ye, in brighter days,
 When coming years have flown,
Return to those whose sun will set,
 When from them ye are gone!
H. A.