Explore "Charles H. Phillips. Obit November 5th, 1881" by James Whitcomb Riley on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
O friend! There is no way / To bid farewell to thee! / The words that we would say / Above thy grave to-day / Still falter and delay / And fail us utterly.
When walking with us here, / The hand we loved to press / Was gentle, and sincere / As thy frank eyes were clear / Through every smile and tear / Of pleasure and distress.
In years, young; yet in thought / Mature; thy spirit, free, / And fired with fervor caught / Of thy proud sire, who fought / His way to fame, and taught / Its toilsome way to thee.
So even thou hast gained / The victory God-given -- / Yea, as our cheeks are stained / With tears, and our souls pained / And mute, thou hast attained / Thy high reward in Heaven!