Lead Her but Kindly

[To our beloved and grief-stricken Mrs. McKinley].

Lead her but kindly, she needs thy hand;
Though others weep around his bier and softly tread,
What’s all this world to her?—her hero’s dead.
               Lead her but kindly.

Lead her but kindly, her eyes are dim;
That cruel monster, “Death,” a gloom hath spread;
With soul oppressed, she’s longing for her dead.
               Lead her but kindly.

Lead her but kindly, with unfaltering trust,
Through days of sorrow that may come and go,
And e’en with other blessings thou mayest bestow.
               Lead her but kindly.

Lead her but kindly, the way is dark.
The pent up fountains of a broken heart
Are overflowing—O, ’tis so sad to part!
               Lead her but kindly.

Lead her but kindly, by the tideless sea,
And there may they meet on that golden shore,
And the greeting will be—“We’ll part no more.”
               Lead her but kindly.