| Alfred H. Miles, ed. The Sacred Poets of the Nineteenth Century. 1907. | | | Rondeaux.
IV. “Before he passed” | | By Charles Dent Bell (1819–1898) |
| | | BEFORE he passed from mortal view, | |
| To where he sleeps beneath the yew, | |
| He said, “Weep not; to thee I’ll come, | |
| If spirits ever leave that home | |
| Through whose dark gates I go from you.” | 5 |
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| How firm his promise well I knew; | |
| So as he spake life sweeter grew, | |
| And flowered again my heart in bloom, | |
| Before he passed! | |
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| Alas! the sweet hope is not true; | 10 |
| He may not tread the avenue | |
| That leadeth from the nether gloom; | |
| Else would he come to this dear room. | |
| I heard his vow,—God heard it too, | |
| Before he passed! | 15 | | | |
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