For Helen

Written for a Catholic woman who was struggling…

FOR HELEN

Earth gives of us her bounty, then she takes;
We are no more to nature, as it were
Than autumn’s golden tears as winter makes
September’s trembling flowers cold and sere.

What pain we feel , in hearts made sad by strife,
Is but the price we pay; a daily cost
That every being gives when it takes life
From life that was, in turn, too quickly lost.

So let us grasp at joy while on the run
And learn to fill the moments of each hour
Like children running in the summer sun:
They chase it down and hold its golden power!

Then let me down in amber meadows lie
And call each summer bird anon to sing;
This is the moment I would choose to die,
So lay me down and let my soul take wing.

Relieve me now from all my earthly care,
Let Duty sleep, let quiet now descend;
Let those I love now love enough to bear
For them, a time-healed grief; for me, a welcome end!

A Voice now calls- and young again, I run,
Remembering all the moments of each hour;
Child-like, I hurry towards the Son,
I grasp His hand and know his shining power!