To My Mother

MY Mother! canst thou see me now

From the far-off fields of light—

Canst thou in spirit come again,

And bless me with thy sight?

Oh! I can see thee, when these eyes

Are closed in balmy sleep;

And reveling in happy dreams

We sweet communion keep!

Years, years have passed, and life to me

Has been but as a dream,

Yet often have I yearned for thee,

As sailing down its stream,

Fond memory brings thee back again,

As thou wert once to me:

When nestled in thy arms I lay,

Or crept upon thy knee!

And when I saw thee in that sleep

From which there is no waking,

And felt as I then gazed on thee

My very heart was breaking;

Oh! can it be, that in that land,

Where there is no more pain,

We may once more united be,

Never to part again?

And shall we meet as we have met,

And be as we have been—

And shall I see thee on me smile,

As I have sometimes seen?

Oh God! if this it is to meet

In Heaven’s own land of light,

Illume my path—direct my feet,

And guide my steps aright!