There Is No Death

What follows is one of my favourite hymns, although this is the full version of the poem - the hymn has fewer verses. I think the final verse is the most beautiful of all. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. I was hoping to be able to give you a You Tube link so you could hear the tune but it doesn't seem to be on You Tube.


There is no death. The stars go down
To rise upon some fairer shore,
And bright in heaven's jewelled crown
They shine for ever more.

There is no death. The forest leaves
Convert to life the viewless air;
The rocks disorganize to feed
The hungry moss they bear.

There is no death. The dust we tread
Shall change beneath the summer showers
To golden grain or mellow fruit,
Or rainbow tinted flowers.

There is no death. The leaves may fall,
The flowers may fade and pass away--
They only wait through wintry hours
The warm, sweet breath of May.

There is no death, although we grieve
When beautiful familiar forms
That we have learned to love are torn
From our embracing arms.

Although with bowed and breaking heart.
With sable garb and silent tread,
We bear their senseless dust to rest,
And say that they are dead--

They are not dead. They have but passed
Beyond the mists that blind us here,
Into the new and larger life
Of that serener sphere.

They have but dropped their robe of clay
To put a shining raiment on;
They have not wandered far away,
They are not "lost" or "gone."

Though unseen to the mortal eye,
They still are here and love us yet;
The dear ones they have left behind
They never do forget.

Sometimes upon our fevered brow
We feel their touch, a breath of balm:
Our spirit sees them, and our hearts
Grow comforted and calm.

Yes, ever near us, though unseen,
Our dear, immortal spirits tread--
For all God's boundless Universe
Is Life--there are no dead.

(By John McCreery)