WE were bereft ere we were well aware
Of all our precious fears, and had instead
A hopeless safety, a secure despair.
We know that fate dealt kindly with our dead,
Tenderer to that fair face we held so dear
Than unto many another's best beloved.
Whate'er befall, we know him far removed
From all the weary labours of last year,
And even in paying this most bitter price
We know the cause worthy the sacrifice.
Now he is safe from any further ill,
Nor toils in peril while at ease we sit,
Yet bides our loss in thinking of him still,—
Of sombre eyes, by sudden laughter lit,
Darkened till all the eternal stars shall wane;
And lost the incommunicable lore
Of cunning fingers ne'er to limn again
And restless hands at rest for ever more.