Louisa May Alcott Quote

MY BETH.Sitting patient in the shadowTill the blessed light shall come,A serene and saintly presenceSanctifies our troubled home.Earthly joys and hopes and sorrowsBreak like ripples on the strandOf the deep and solemn riverWhere her willing feet now stand.O my sister, passing from me,Out of human care and strife,Leave me, as a gift, those virtuesWhich have beautified your life.Dear, bequeath me that great patienceWhich has power to sustainA cheerful, uncomplaining spiritIn its prison-house of pain.Give me, for I need it sorely,Of that courage, wise and sweet,Which has made the path of dutyGreen beneath your willing feet.Give me that unselfish nature,That with charity divineCan pardon wrong for love's dear sake—Meek heart, forgive me mine!Thus our parting daily losethSomething of its bitter pain,And while learning this hard lesson,My great loss becomes my gain.For the touch of grief will renderMy wild nature more serene,Give to life new aspirations,A new trust in the unseen.Henceforth, safe across the river,I shall see for evermoreA beloved, household spiritWaiting for me on the shore.Hope and faith, born of my sorrow,Guardian angels shall become,And the sister gone before meBy their hands shall lead me home.