Stedman and Hutchinson, comps. A Library of American Literature:
An Anthology in Eleven Volumes. 1891.
Vols. IX–XI: Literature of the Republic, Part IV., 1861–1889
It is not Death to Die
By George Washington Bethune (1805–1862)[Born in New York, N. Y., 1805. Died in Florence, Italy, 1862. Lays of Love and Faith. 1848.]
I
To leave this weary road,
And, midst the brotherhood on high,
To be at home with God.
The eye long dimmed by tears,
And wake in glorious repose,
To spend eternal years.
The wrench that sets us free
From dungeon-chain, to breathe the air
Of boundless liberty.
Aside this sinful dust,
And rise on strong, exulting wing,
To live among the just.
Thy chosen cannot die!
Like Thee, they conquer in the strife,
To reign with Thee on high.