Poems (Angier)/J. B. F. (April 11)

by Annie Lanman Angier

J. B. F. April 11.

To-day, through memory's silent halls,
 A light footfall is heard;
And by its softly echoing tread,
 My soul's calm depths are stirred.

As summer zephyr's scented breath,
Gives fragrance to the fading wreath;
So now to me come thoughts of thee—
Dear dweller by the crystal sea.

What thou art thinking, none may say,
This fleeting, fitful April day;
But thoughts thou hast—Love tells me so,
They blend with mine of—long ago!

No sin, no fears, no grief, no tears,
In heaven, thrice seven bright blissful years,
Thy voice hath joined the angel throng
With naught to check thy joyous song.

O! wondrous alchemy divine—
The Power, that water changed to wine,
Dissolves the spell of death's dark night;
Graves hear Thy voice, "Let there be light."

So, while beside the buried Past,
I sit and sing, the hours speed fast—
Dear Heart! for her we breathe no sigh,
She taught us how to live and die.

O Faith, that smiles when tempests lower,
Be mine thy overcoming power,
To calmly wait, till solved shall be
Of Death and Life the mystery.