Zinzendorff and Other Poems/Friendship with the Dead
FRIENDSHIP WITH THE DEAD.
Eye of the Dead! thy sacred beam
Is with me, wheresoe'er I rove,
As moonlight tints the mirror'd stream,
With Heaven's reflected smile of love.
I stood amid thy kindred band,
Explor'd thy haunts of classic thought,
And in thy treasur'd casket scann'd
The polish'd gems by Genius wrought;
And still, thy breath ethereal fann'd
In that blest home, affection's flame,
While strongly from the better land,
Thy pure, unearthly promptings came.
The living eye on ours may gaze,
The warm lip pour the wealth of mind,
Brow beam on brow congenial rays,
And hand in hand be firmly join'd,
But nearer, though unseen may flit
The hovering seraph's wing serene,
And soul to soul be closer knit
Even with this veil of flesh between.
Eye of the dead! with guardian ray
Like star amid the arch of night,
Still deign to guide my pilgrim-way
To realms of uncreated light.