When the hours of Day are numbered,
And the voices of the Night
Wake the better soul, that slumbered,
To a holy, calm delight;
Ere the evening lamps are lighted,
And, like phantoms grim and tall,
Shadows from the fitful firelight
Dance upon the parlor wall;
Then the forms of the departed
Enter at the open door;
The beloved, the true-hearted,
Come to visit me once more;
He, the young and strong, who cherished
Noble longings for the strife,
By the roadside fell and perished,
Weary with the march of life!
They, the holy ones and weakly,
Who the cross of suffering bore,
Folded their pale hands so meekly,
Spake with us on earth no more!
And with them the Being Beauteous,
Who unto my youth was given,
More than all things else to love me,
And is now a saint in heaven.
With a slow and noiseless footstep
Comes that messenger divine,
Takes the vacant chair beside me,
Lays her gentle hand in mine.
And she sits and gazes at me
With those deep and tender eyes,
Like the stars, so still and saint-like,
Looking downward from the skies.
Uttered not, yet comprehended,
Is the spirit's voiceless prayer,
Soft rebukes, in blessings ended,
Breathing from her lips of air.
Oh, though oft depressed and lonely,
All my fears are laid aside,
If I but remember only
Such as these have lived and died!
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Comments
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rhyming is well written and the emotion for the love one shows throughout the lines..images are beautifully shown..thank you for sharing OP~Lieu
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Good
a little difficult to understand for me but its very nice. Hamid -
Another poignant ballad from the king of rhyme, Longfellow's "Footsteps of Angels) dances along in perfect meter - you can count on that almost always from Longfellow - and so it is easy for the reader to follow his thoughts, like slipping in a canoe down a silken river of time and event. Here, the poet reminds us of the treasured people we have known, alive no more, but whose spirits are ever with us to take comfort from, whenever we turn from life's mundane cares. "If I but remember only such as these have lived and died!" - I can put down my fears, and be comforted.
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