THEY are not dead, those loved ones who have passed
Beyond our vision for a little while.
They have but reached the Light while we still grope
In darkness where we cannot see them smile.

But smile they do, and love us, and do not forget,
Nor ever go so far away
But that their hands clasp our hands and hold
Us safe from falling when we fain would stray.

They are not dead—theirs is the fuller life.
Theirs is the victory, the joy, the gain;
For us is still the waiting and the strife,
For us the loneliness, for us the pain.

Then let us gird us once again with hope,
And give them smile for smile the while we wait;
And loving, serving, when our Father calls,
We’ll go to find our dear ones wait us at the gate.

—H. A. C., from Immortality Now.

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