I'm returning, not departing;
My steps are homeward bound.
I quit the land of strangers
For a home on native ground.

I am rising, and not setting;
This is not night but day.
Not in darkness, but in sunshine,
Like a star, I fade away.

All is well with me for ever
I do not fear to go.
My tide is but beginning
Its bright eternal flow.

I am leaving only shadows,
For the true and fair and good.
I must not, cannot, linger;
I would not, though I could.

This is not death's dark portal,
'Tis life's golden gate to me.
Link after link is broken,
And I at last am free.

I am going to the angels,
I am going to my God;
I know the hand that beckons,
I see the holy road.

Why grieve me with your weeping,
Your tears are all in vain;
An hour's farewell, beloved,
And we shall meet again.

Jesus, thou wilt receive me,
And welcome me above;
This sunshine, which now fills me,
Is thine own smile of love.