In Memorium: Alphonse Campbell Fordham
Aged 6 Years, 2 Months, 20 Days
Almost whose last words were
“We shall meet beyond the River.”
Almost whose last words were
“We shall meet beyond the River.”
Yes, my darling, when life’s shadows
Over me do darkly fall,
Meet me surely at the river
As I haste to obey the call.
Gladly through the darksome valley,
Through its portals, grim and cold,
Will I hasten ’till my nestling
Meets me at the “Gates of Gold.”
Sadly do I miss my wee one,
None can fill thy vacant place,
Only in my dreams I fold thee,
Only then behold thy face.
See thee in thy childish beauty,
Clasp thy little hand in mine,
Ever will these moments chain me,
Ever in my heart enshrined.
Little Heartsease, “bud of promise,”
Broken off in early morn,
Now can sin no more pollute thee
In the angels’ bosom borne.
In that land no pain or anguish
Ever can my child enfold,
Then my darling meet thy mother
Surely at the “Gates of Gold.”
Source: African-American Poetry of the Nineteenth Century: An Anthology (University of Illinois Press, 1992)