William Baxter Longing to Depart (1849)

FROM

THE

MILLENNIAL HARBINGER.

SERIES III.

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VOL. VI. BETHANY, VA. APRIL, 1849. NO. IV.
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LONGING TO DEPART.

BY WILLIAM BAXTER.

Let me go; my soul is weary
      Of the chain, which binds it here;
Let my spirit bend its pinion,
      To a brighter, holier sphere.
Earth, 'tis true, hath friends that bless me,
      With their fond and faithful love;
But the hands of angels beckon,
      Onward, to the climes above.

Let me go; for earth bath sorrow,
      Sin, and pain, and bitter tears;
All its paths are dark and dreary,
      All its hopes are fraught with fears;
Short lived are its brightest flowers;
      Soon its cherished joys decay;--
Let me go; I fain would leave it
      For the realms of endless day.

Let me go; my heart hath tasted
      Of my Saviour's wondrous grace;
Let me go; where I shall ever,
      See, and know him, face to face;
Let me go; the trees of heaven
      Rise before me, waving bright;
And the distant, crystal waters,
      Flash upon my failing sight.

Let me go; for songs seraphic,
      Now seem calling from the sky;
'Tis the welcome of the angels,
      Which, e'en now, are hov'ring nigh.
Let me go; they wait to bear me
      To the mansions of the blest,
Where the spirit, worn and weary,
      Finds, at last, its long sought rest.

[The Millennial Harbinger (April 1849): 215.]

ABOUT THE ELECTRONIC EDITION

      William Baxter's "Longing to Depart" was first published in The Millennial Harbinger, Third Series, Vol. 6, No. 4, April 1849. The electronic version of the poem has been produced from the College Press reprint (1976) of The Millennial Harbinger, ed. Alexander Campbell (Bethany, VA: A. Campbell, 1849), p. 215.

      Addenda and corrigenda are earnestly solicited.

Ernie Stefanik
Derry, PA

Created 19 June 1998.
Updated 28 June 2003.

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