The Picture on the Wall

'Tis noon of night, the sable clouds
Hang weeping in the sky
Alone I sit, where fancies flit
Like spectral shadows by
Me thinks I see familiar forms
And on before them all
So fair, so calm, so wondrous like
Wondrous like the picture on the wall
Among the brave and loyal
How many loved ones fall
Whose friends, bereft
Have only left, only left
A picture on the wall
I hear the press of eager feet
Upon my parlor floor
A moment, and my willing arms
Enclasp my boy once more
I feel his warm breath on my cheek
But when his name I call
A shadowy finger points to me
Points me to his picture on the wall
Among the brave and loyal
How many loved ones fall
Whose friends, bereft
Have only left, only left
A picture on the wall
The moon’s full radiance struggles through
And lights my room once more
Thus shall heav’n, O heart of mine
Thy seeming loss restore
Its light shall gild the present gloom
And sweeter spells enthral
Than that which binds me to this sweet
To this sweet true Picture on the Wall
Among the brave and loyal
How many loved ones fall
Whose friends, bereft
Have only left, only left
A picture on the wall