GONE BEFORE.

Thou art in heaven, and I am still on earth; 'Tis years, long years, since we were parted here, I still a wanderer amid grief and fear, And thou the tenant of a brighter sphere. Yet still thou seemest near; But yesterday it seems, Since the last clasp was given, Since our lips met, And our eyes looked into each other's depths. Thou art amid the deathless, I still here, Amid things mortal, in a land of graves, A land o'er which the heavy-beating waves Of changing time move on, a land where raves The storm, which whoso braves Must have his anchor fixed Firmly within the vail—; So let my anchor be; Such be my consolation and my hope! Thou art amid the sorrowless, I here Amid the sorrowing: and yet not long Shall I remain 'mid sin, and fear, and wrong: Soon shall I join you in your sinless song. Thy day has come, not gone, Thy sun has risen, not set, Thy life is now beyond The reach of death or change; Not ended, but begun, Such shall our life be soon. And then,—the meeting-day, How full of light and joy! All fear of change cast out, All shadows passed away, The union sealed forever Between us and our Lord. —Horatius Bonar.