GOD'S LENT CHILD
I'll lend you for a little while
A child of mine, God said.
For you to love the while he lives
And mourn for when he's dead.
It may be six or seven years
or forty-two or three.
But, will you, 'til I call him back,
Take care of him for me?
He'll bring his charms to gladden you
And should his stay be brief,
You'll have his lovely memories
As a solace for your greif.
I can not promise he will stay
Since all from Earth returns,
But there are lessons taught below,
I want this child to learn.
I've looked the whole world over
In my search for teacher's true.
And from the things that crowd life's lane
I have chose you.
Now will you give him all your love?
Nor think the labor vain?
Nor hate me when I come to take
This lent child back again?
I fancied that I heard them say
Dear Lord, thy will be done.
For all the joys thy child will bring
The risk of grief we'll run.
We will shelter him with tenderness,
We'll love him while we may.
And for all the happiness we have known
Forever grateful stay.
But should thy angel call for him,
Much sooner than we planned
We'll brave the bitter grief that comes
And try to understand.
“The Best”
God saw you getting tired
And a cure was not to be.
So He put His arms around you
And He whispered “Come to Me”
With tearful eyes we watched you.
We watched you fade away.
Although we loved you dearly,
We could not make you stay.
A golden heart stopped beating,
Hard-working hands at rest.
God broke our hearts to prove to us,
He chose to take the best.
It’s lonesome here without you
We miss you more each day.
Life doesn’t seem the same
Since you have gone away.
When days are sad and lonely
And everything goes wrong,
We seem to hear you whisper
“Cheer Up and Carry On”
Stop all the clocks
Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.
Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead,
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.
He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong.
The stars are not wanted now: put out every one;
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood.
For nothing now can ever come to any good.
UNTILTED
when tomorrow starts without me
And I'm not there to see;
If the sun should rise and find your eyes
All filled with tears for me;
I wish so much you wouldn't cry
The way you did today
While thinking of the many things
We didn't get to say.
I know how much you love me,
As much as I love you.
And each time that you think of me
I know you'll miss me too.
But when tomorrow starts without me
Please try to understand,
That an angel came and called my name
And took me by the hand.OF A DEAR SON
Something will remind me
I never know just when,
It might be something someone says
And it all comes back again.
The times we spent together
The happiness, the fun,
Once again I feel the pain
Of life without my Son.
It's said that time's a healer
I'm not sure this is true,
There's not a day goes by Son
That I don't cry for you.