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Louisa May Alcott - My Beth
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Sitting patient in the shadow
        Till the blessed light shall come,
        A serene and saintly presence
        Sanctifies our troubled home.
        Earthly joys and hopes and sorrows
        Break like ripples on the strand
        Of the deep and solemn river
        Where her willing feet now stand.


        O my sister, passing from me,
        Out of human care and strife,
        Leave me, as a gift, those virtues
        Which have beautified your life.
        Dear, bequeath me that great patience
        Which has power to sustain
        A cheerful, uncomplaining spirit
        In its prison-house of pain.


        Give me, for I need it sorely,
        Of that courage, wise and sweet,
        Which has made the path of duty
        Green beneath your willing feet.
        Give me that unselfish nature,
        That with charity devine
        Can pardon wrong for love`s dear sake--
        Meek heart, forgive me mine!


        Thus our parting daily loseth
        Something of its bitter pain,
        And while learning this hard lesson,
        My great loss becomes my gain.
        For the touch of grief will render
        My wild nature more serene,
        Give to life new aspirations,
        A new trust in the unseen.


        Henceforth, safe across the river,
        I shall see forever more
        A beloved, household spirit
        Waiting for me on the shore.
        Hope and faith, born of my sorrow,
        Guardian angels shall become,
        And the sister gone before me
        By their hands shall lead me home.
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