To My Children Poem by John Bowring

Two names I had inscribed upon this page,
Dear to my youth-and to my manhood dear-
But those who bore them dwell no longer here;
They through the gate of venerable age
Have passed to heaven in heavenly pilgrimage.
My smile shall dwell upon their sepulchre
In grateful musings,-while I breathe the prayer
That you, when called to life's soul-trying stage,
May find such guides as 'twas my bliss to find.
To leave a memory of light behind,
As they have left, is life's best legacy-
That legacy be yours-and when my race
Is ended, at the general resting-place,
As I of them-my children! think of me.

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