Dora Sigerson Shorter

When I Shall Rise

When I shall rise, and full of many fears,
Set forth upon my last long journey, lone,
And leave behind the circling earth to go
Amongst the countless stars to seek God's throne.
When in the vapourish blue I wander, lost,
Let some fair paradise reward my eyes—
Hill after hill, and green and sunny vale,
As I have known beneath the Irish skies.
So on the far horizon I shall see
No alien land but this I hold so dear—
Killiney's silver sands, and Wicklow hills,
Dawn on my frightened eyes as I draw near.
And if it be no evil prayer to breathe,
Oh, let no stranger saint or seraphim
Wait there to lead up to the judgment-seat,
My timid soul with weeping eyes and dim.

But let them come, those dear and lovely ghosts,
In all their human guise and lustihood,
To stand upon that shore and call me home,
Waving their joyful hands as once they stood—As once they stood!