On the Death of a Friend
On the Death of a Friend
The late chrysanthemums that speak of life
Are budding now as I prepare to leave.
I read today that my dear friend had died,
His soul has flown – there is no cause to grieve
His gifts will live beyond the body’s fall
For he instilled in youth the joy to know
His body of books remains to enrich us all.
There is no death that has ultimately prevailed.
These master-souls return to earth again
In bodies new, in forms so lightly veiled.
They labour to bring the living word to men
And work to end our enmity and strife.
