Up to the gates of gleaming Pearl, There came the spirit of a girl, And to the white-robed Guard she said: ‘Dear Angel, am I truly dead? Just yonder, lying on my bed, I heard them say it; and they wept. And after that, methinks I slept. Then when I woke, I saw your face, And suddenly was in this place. It seems a pleasant place to be, Yet earth was fair enough to me. What is there here, to do, or see? Will I see God, dear Angel, say? And is He very far away?’ The Angel said, ‘You are in truth What men call dead. That word to youth Is full of terror; but it means Only a change of tasks, and scenes. You have been brought to us because Of certain ancient karmic laws Set into motion æons gone. By us you will be guided on From plane to plane, and sphere to sphere, Until your tasks are finished here. Then back to earth, the home of man, To work again another span.’ ‘But, Angel, when will I see God?’ ‘After the final path is trod; After you no more long, or crave, To see, or hear, or own, or have Aught beside -- HIM. Then shall His face Reveal itself to you in space. And you shall find yourself made one With that Great Sun, behind the sun. Child, go thy way inside the gate, Where many eager loved ones wait. Death is but larger life begun.’
Two songs
Song Cycle by Anny Mesritz-van Velthuysen (1887 - 1965)
1. An answer  [sung text not yet checked]
Authorship:
- by Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850 - 1919), "The Answer", appears in Poems of Experience, first published 1917
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Confirmed with Ella Wheeler Wilcox, Poems of Experience, Gay and Hancock, Ltd., London, 1917
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
2. To marry or not to marry?  [sung text not yet checked]
Mother says, "Be in no hurry, Marriage oft means care and worry." Auntie says, with manner grave, "Wife is synonym for slave." Father asks, in tones commanding, "How does Bradstreet rate his standing?" Sister, crooning to her twins, Sighs, "With marriage care begins." Grandma, near life's closing days, Murmurs, "Sweet are girlhood's ways." Maud, twice widowed ("sod and grass") Looks at me and moans "Alas!" They are six, and I am one, Life for me has just begun. The are older, calmer, wiser: Age should aye be youth's adviser. They must know--and yet, dear me, When in Harry's eyes I see All the world of love there burning-- On my six advisers turning, I make answer, "Oh, but Harry, Is not like most men who marry. "Fate has offered me a prize, Life with love means Paradise. "Life without it is not worth All the foolish joys of earth." So, in spite of all they say, I shall name the wedding-day.
Authorship:
- by Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850 - 1919), "To marry or not to marry?"
Go to the single-text view
Confirmed with Ella Wheeler Wilcox, Poetical works of Ella Wheeler Wilcox Edinburgh : W. P. Nimmo, Hay, & Mitchell, 1917
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]