The Passing Bell

Hark! 'tis the passing bell;
While the soul is on its way,
While it waves its upward wings,
We yet may pray.
Pray for the good man's soul;
He is leaving earth for heaven;
And it soothes us to feel that the best
May be forgiven.
Pray for the sinful soul;
It fleëth we know not where;
But wherever it be, let us hope;
For God is there.
Pray for the rich man's soul;
Not all be unjust, nor vain;
The wise he consoled; and he saved
The poor from pain.
Pray for the poor man's soul;
The death of this life of ours,
He hath shook from his feet; he is one
Of the Heavenly powers.
Pray for the old man's soul;
He hath laboured long; through life
It was battle, or march; he hath ceased,
Serene, from strife.
Pray for the infant's soul;
With his spirit's crown unsoiled,
He hath won, without war, a realm;
Gained all, nor toiled.
Pray for the struggling soul;
The mists of the straits of death
Clear off; in some star--bright isle
It anchoreth.
Pray for the soul assured;
Though it wrought in a gloomy mine,
Yet the gems it earned were its own,
That soul divine.
Pray for the simple soul;
For it loved, and therein was wise,
Though itself knew not; but with Heaven
Confused the skies.
Pray for the sage's soul;
'Neath his welkin wide of mind,
Lay the central thought of God,
Though undefined.
Pray for the high, the mean;
Souls are of equal birth;
Let thoughts be the joy of the world,
And end of earth.
Pray for the souls of all,
To God, and His holy Son,
That, filled with the Spirit Divine,
All may be one.
Hush! for the bell hath ceased;
And the spirit's fate is sealed;
To the angels known; to man
Left unrevealed.