| Alfred H. Miles, ed. The Sacred Poets of the Nineteenth Century. 1907. | | | | III. “Around a Table, not a Tomb” | | By Elizabeth Charles (1827–1896) |
| | | AROUND a Table, not a Tomb, | |
| He willed our gathering-place to be; | |
| When going to prepare our home, | |
| Our Saviour said—“Remember Me.” | |
| |
| We kneel around no sculptured stone, | 5 |
| Marking the place where Jesus lay;— | |
| Empty the tomb, the angels gone, | |
| The stone for ever rolled away. | |
| |
| Nay! sculptured stones are for the dead! | |
| Thy three dark days of death are o’er; | 10 |
| Thou art the Life, our living Head, | |
| Our living Light for evermore! | |
| |
| Of no fond relics, sadly dear, | |
| O Master! are Thine own possest; | |
| The crown of thorns, the cross, the spear, | 15 |
| The purple robe, the seamless vest. | |
| |
| Nay, relics are for those who mourn | |
| The memory of an absent friend; | |
| Not absent Thou, nor we forlorn! | |
| “With you each day until the end!” | 20 |
| |
| Thus round Thy Table, not Thy Tomb, | |
| We keep Thy sacred Feast with Thee; | |
| Until within the Father’s Home | |
| Our endless gathering-place shall be. | | | | |
|
|
