For the One Who Sleeps

"When I do count the clock that tells the time
And see the brave day sunk in hideous night
When I behold the violet past prime
And sable curls all silvered o'er with white..."

Tom is gone
Said the lady on the line
The doctor died a year ago
Born to teach
He read us with misty eyes
From a troubled poet's soul
He used to say
"Think with more than just your head
Think within a marrowbone"
Class dismissed
No more lessons left for Tom
Now he knows as he is known

Tender hearts
Bow your heads for those who weep
But be glad for the one who sleeps
In the Lord
He's been rescued from the deep
Like Ishmael upon the sea

Rose is gone
Said the voice upon the line
Gone to Jesus much too soon
Torn away
Is the flower of my heart
Just as she began to bloom
In the end
I will look into her eyes
She will take me by the hand
Until then
I am torn between two worlds
Puzzled by the Father's plan

Tender hearts
Bow your heads for those who weep
But be glad for the one who sleeps
In the Lord
She's been rescued from the deep
Like Ishmael upon the sea

Only "time's brief masquerade"
Stands between the living
And the ones who wait at Heaven's gate