At a Deathbed [poem by William Blocksidge (William Baylebridge)]

[Editor: This poem by William Blocksidge (also known as William Baylebridge) was published in Songs o’ the South (1908).]

XXII.

At a Deathbed

I gaze upon thy face —
Ah me! ’tis wondrous fair;
I feel thy soft embrace,
And my heart melts in prayer.

It melts and melts, ah me!
In tears it melts away;
It pleads to God for thee,
Who soon must turn to clay.

Upon that face I gaze —
Thy face so wondrous fair;
And then that God I praise
Who put such kindness there.

Source:
William Blocksidge, Songs o’ the South, London: Watts, 1908, p. 35

Editor’s notes:
clay = in the context of death, a reference to the idea that, just as God made man from out of clay (from Genesis 2:7 in the Old Testament of the Bible), when humans die they will return to clay, an idea which is similarly expressed in the funeral service in the Church of England’s Book of Common Prayer, “we therefore commit this body to the ground, earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust” (or, in this case, clay to clay)
See: 1) “The Book of Common Prayer, With Marginal References to Texts in the Holy Scriptures”, London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1839, p. 275 (section CCXXVII) (this edition says “his body”, with the “his” in italics to indicate that the words can be changed to “her body”, whereas the modern gender-neutral version says “this body”)
2) “Why can’t I find “ashes to ashes, dust to dust” in the Bible?”, The Concise Lexicon of Christianity: Ken Collins’ Website
3) “ashes to ashes, dust to dust”, Oxford Reference

thee = (archaic) you

thy = (archaic) your

’tis = (archaic) a contraction of “it is”