_Soul_--
Ah! yes, but to reach that home of light
I must pass through the fearful vale of night;
And my soul with alarm doth shuddering cry--
O angel, I tell thee, I dare not die!

_Angel_--
Ah! mortal beloved, in that path untried
Will I be, as ever, still at thy side,
Through gloom to guide till, death's shadows passed,
Thou nearest, unharmed, God's throne at last.

_Soul_--
Alas! too many close ties of love
Around my wavering heart are wove!
Fond, tender voices, press me to stay--
Think'st thou from them I would pass away?
Daily my mother, with anguish wild,
Bends o'er the couch of her dying child,
And one, nearer still, with silent tears,
Betrays his anguish, his gloomy fears--
Yes, even now, while to thee I speak,
Are hot drops falling upon my cheek;
Think you I'd break from so close a tie?
No, my guardian angel, I cannot die!

_Angel_--
Poor child of earth! how closely clings
Thy heart to earth and to earthly things!