Poems (Toke)/Vainly, beloved, have I tried to meet

by Emma Toke

AINLY, beloved, have I tried to meet
 This happy time as in the days of yore,
 And once again in joyful numbers pour
A heart-warm lay, thy natal morn to greet.
Alas! the shadow of the past still falls
 Too darkly round me with its clouds and fears;
And every day like this but more recalls
 A grief too recent still for aught but tears.
 O that whate'er our span of future years
On earth shall be, that darkest hour may prove
 The cloud from whence a guiding light appears,
To lead us on with hearts and hopes above,
 Until we meet those loved ones gone before,
Where grief shall pass away, and tears shall be no more.

E.

October' 6, 1856.'