“HADST THOU BEEN HERE.”
Often the simple words return to me, Pathetic, sad, yet full of fait h sincere, Breathed by the mournful uiai-1 of Bethany, In her deep sorrow nnd humility, To him she loved so well— *' Hadst thou been here!”
For so, O, hopeful heart, I thiuk of thee, In thy continued absence, year on year— Saying, when loss or grief has come to me, And I have lacked thy strength so utterly—- “ I had not suffered t hus, hadst thou been here!”
But ah I in calmer after-thought, I bco By reason’s light, dispassionate and clear, That ev’n thy love could not have kept from me
The penalties of this mortality, O, strong and sheltering soul, hadst been here!
For had thy shielding arm encircled me Through all the years, and kept me close and near, Still in my treasure moth and rust would be — Still pain hod rent and toil had wearied me. And years had aged me, even hadst thou been here.
And yet let reason argue as it may, Those words still hold for me a truth most dear— For though thou couldst not keep all grief away, Thy presence would have changed the night to day, And all been well with me, hadst thou been here. F. P.
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Poverty Bay Standard, Volume II, Issue 195, 12 August 1874, Page 2
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215“HADST THOU BEEN HERE.” Poverty Bay Standard, Volume II, Issue 195, 12 August 1874, Page 2
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