[Editor: This poem by Louisa Lawson was published in “The Lonely Crossing” and Other Poems (1905).]
My Nettie.
With rapture I gaze, for by faith do I see
The child that my Saviour has taken from me,
Secure in his arms in that beautiful place,
A radiance of glory illuming her face;
While He tells of a love on earth below,
It ne’er was the bright fate of mortal to know.
A mansion, blessed babe, and a welcome for thee,
I said, “Let the little ones come unto Me.”
The vision is fading. Thank God for the rest
That steals o’er my worn heart with sorrow oppressed,
Forgetting in grief what our Lord had foretold —
That spirits dwell not in the grave dark and cold.
Ere faded the flowers we placed on her breast
Her soul must have reached its bright haven of rest.
And ever I pray that my portion may be
Where baby — my baby is waiting for me.
Source:
Louisa Lawson, “The Lonely Crossing” and Other Poems, Sydney: Dawn Office, [1905], pp. 83-84
Editor’s notes:
This poem is apparently about the death of a child.
ere = (archaic) before (from the Middle English “er”, itself from the Old English “aer”, meaning early or soon)
He = in a religious context, and capitalized, a reference to God
illuming = (archaic) illuminating (casting or shining a light upon something; lighting up something; making bright with light)
Lord = in a religious context, and capitalized, a reference to God or Jesus
ne’er = (vernacular) an archaic contraction of “never”
o’er = (archaic) over (pronounced the same as “oar”, “or”, and “ore”)
Saviour = in a religious context, a reference to Jesus or God
thee = (archaic) you
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