Classic Poem

M ABELLE ! friend, I now shall call thee,
 Though perchance I never see
Thy face, 'mid the dear ones hanging
 “On the walls of memory.”
Mabelle, as a friend draw nearer,
 And reveal thyself to me.

They who can in tuneful numbers
 Pouch with joy the poet's lyre;
They upon whose spirit-altars
 Burns the poet's holy fire,—
Surely they can ne'er be strangers,
 Members of the same sweet choir.

Friend!—nay, more, I call thee sister ,—
 Suffering, human hearts can bind,
In a union purer, stronger,
 Than if mutual joys intwined
Those who, in the bonds of friendship,
 Sweet communion oft may find.

Oft have I at sorrow's fountain
 Quaffed the bitter draught with tears,
Struggled in the night of suffering
 With besetting human fears,
Said “Farewell” with aching spirit
 To the loved of many years.

So I hail thee as a sister,
 To my heart by sorrow bound;
And I mourn with thee thy dear ones,
 Resting 'neath each lowly mound,
For their sakes grown holy, precious,—
 Thine own consecrated ground.

More than this! my spirit claims thee
 As a sister, Mabelle, now,
Since, beneath the rod of chastening,
 Meekly doth thy spirit bow,
And the mark of a disciple
 Angels see upon thy brow.

I love all who love my Saviour,
 Whatso'er their creed or name,
Asking but that their devotion
 Rise a pure, perennial flame,
Daily deeds of love attesting
 Whence the sacred incense came.

So I hail thee as a sister,
 In the bonds that shall endure;
And my heart with thine is beating,
 Keeping time forevermore,
Hoping oft again to meet thee
 Here, and on Life's farther shore.

Yes, the spirit, ever growing,
 Vacant chambers e'er shall know,
Without sending forth a tenant
 Of the spirit long ago,
Like those mansions where the ransomed
 Pass in gladness to and fro.

In the soul each day expanding,
 Fast the “many mansions” grow;
Some of which the death-sealed tenant,
 Some for friends still here below,
Some for angels, and the saved ones
 Of the land to which we go.

Yes: I have a “vacant chamber.”
 Thou shalt be a welcome guest,
If my love, for Christ's sake given,
 Can make thee a moment blest,
Whispering the eternal password,
 Mabelle, “Enter there and rest.”