Farewell

When prayers ascend and tears are shed,
And nations pay to honored dead—
     High tribute to his fame,
We’ll weave our tributes in a crown,
And lay them sadly, gently down,
With wreathes [sic] of immortelles, to live,
And fadeless, in all ages to give
     A lustre to his name.
Where mountain peaks blend western skies,
Or southland, where, ’neath balmy skies,
     The sweet magnolias bloom—
In all the land each stricken heart
Will share a patriot’s loyal part
And, joined in tears, as one, will lay
Our gift—a nation’s love—today
     Upon his silent tomb.
Farewell kind husband, comrade. When,
Like perfume sweet of flowers, again
     The springtime breezes swell,
We’ll think of thee with reverent thought
And bless the work thy mind hath wrought.
Farewell—God’s will, not ours, be done;
Life’s battle’s o’er, the victory’s won,
     Farewell; a last farewell.