The Leaves Around Me Falling

The leaves around me fall­ing

Are preach­ing of de­cay;

The hol­low winds are call­ing

Come

pil­grim

come away!

The day

in night de­clin­ing

Says

I must too de­cline:

The year its life re­sign­ing—

Its lot fore­sha­dows mine.

The light my path sur­round­ing

The loves to which I cling

The hopes with­in me bound­ing

The joys that round me wing—

All

all

like stars at ev­en

Just gleam

and shoot away;

Pass on be­fore to Heav­en

And chide at my de­lay.

The friends gone there be­fore me

Are call­ing me from high

And joy­ous an­gels o’er me

Tempt sweet­ly to the sky.

Why wait

they say

and wi­ther

Mid scenes of death and sin?

O rise to glo­ry hi­ther

And find true life be­gin!

I hear the in­vi­ta­tion

And fain would rise and come—

A sin­ner

to sal­va­tion;

An ex­ile

to his home:

But while I here must lin­ger

Thus

thus

let all I see

Point on

with faith­ful fin­ger

To Heav’n

O Lord

and Thee.