COMING HOME

COMING HOME

In hearts of men through all the years

One instinct's e'er held sway;

Through toil and strife, through joy and mirth,

In winter or in May:

In frigid zone or tropic isle,

Where'er man's footsteps roam;

Deep in his soul the vital urge

Of some day "Coming Home".

Like others, I have cast my lot

Away from scenes of youth;

I've known the sting of perfidy,

I've gleaned the grains of truth.

I've met success and failure too,

I've laughed and I have wept;

But home-ties bound my very life,

From dangers often kept.

I've known the plaudits of the crowd,

I've shrunk from gibes and jeers;

I've climbed the heights, or hopelessly

My eyes have filled with tears.

But now, all's well, my heart is light,

Nor fear when troubles come,

When 'round about me all is love

And I have come back home.

The old home stands a monument

To faith and constancy;

I seem to see my father here

In honest dignity.

See mother and her love of home,

In patience giving all;

Their presence here is felt tonight,

'Though gone beyond recall.

We sons and daughters of the two

Are met in memory

Of other days when steadfast hands

Controlled our destiny.

We homage pay here at this shrine,

Our hearts feel new and clean.

We see our yesterdays unfold

In each familiar scene.

We feel the warmth of comradeship,

Of understanding hearts;

And in our souls a clear response

To all that love imparts.

Tonight we see the days that were,

The Heart-aches and the joys;

The guiding hands of those who've gone,

When we were girls and boys.

Tonight we'll sleep beneath the roof

That sheltered us for years;

We'll wander through the hollowed rooms

That knew our smiles and tears;

And in our dreams we may tonight

Re-live the joys we've had;

And forge a stronger, deathless link

With mother and with dad.

The passing years have taken toll

Since we were gay and young;

Our yesterdays seem but a dream,

A song that has been sung.

Tomorrow? There our visions dims.

Will we know sweet contents,

And will the short time we have left

Bring peace and recompense?

Somehow we know that after all

Is said and all is done;

Our lives will merge with the Infinite,

At the setting of our sun.

Our prayers of hope through faltering lips

Will reach to Heaven's dome;

And tired hearts know naught but peace,

For we'll be "Coming Home".

Howard

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