By nameless author

 

There is no death! The stars go down

      To rise upon some other shore,

And bright in heaven’s jeweled crown

      They shine forevermore.

There is no death! The dust we tread

       Shall change, beneath the summer showers

To golden grain, or mellowed fruit,

       Or rainbow tinted flowers.

There is no death! The leaves may fall,

      And flowers may fade and pass away –

They only wait, through wintry hours,

      The warm, sweet breath of May.

There is no death! Although we grieve

       When beautiful, familiar forms

That we have learned to love are torn

       from our embracing arms –

They are not dead! They have but passed

       Beyond the mists that blind us here

Into the new and larger life

        Of that serener sphere.

They have but dropped their robe of clay

        to put their shining raiment on.

They have not wandered far away –

         They are not “lost” nor “gone”.

… For all the boundless universe is Life.