Two Pictures by Sel.

California Conference of Seventh-day Adventists · Oakland, Cal. · Nov 12, 1874

Two Pictures.

By Sel.

Somebody’s heart is gay, And somebody’s heart is sad; For lights shine out across the way, And a door with crape is clad— Sadness and gladness alike Are dwelling side by side— Perhaps the death of an early one, And the crowning of a bride.

Bright eyes are filled with mirth, Pale faces bend in prayer, And hearts beside the household hearth, Are crushed by stout despair. Ah, sorrow, and hope, and joy, Are parted by thinnest walls; But on the hearts of the thoughtless ones, No shadow of sorrow falls!

No thoughts of the funeral train Come to the festive throng: No hope that the past will come again, To the anguished hearts belong. The future’s a sunny sea, To the lovers of joy and mirth— But the past alone, to those who weep For the sundered ties of earth.

Somebody’s heart is gay, And somebody’s heart is sad: For the lights are bright across the way, And a door with crape is clad— Sadness and gladness alike Confront us on every side. A wealth of smiles and a flood of tears, With hope and sorrow allied!—Sel.