By-And-Bye

‘By-and-bye, ’ the maiden sighed – ‘by-and-bye

He will claim me for his bride,

Hope is strong and time is fleet;

Youth is fair, and love is sweet,

Clouds will pass that fleck my sky,

He will come back by-and-bye.’

‘By-and-bye, ’ the soldier said – ‘by-and-bye,

After I have fought and bled,

I shall go home from the wars,

Crowned with glory, seamed with scars,

Joy will flash from some one’s eye

When she greets me by-and-bye- by-and-bye.’

‘By-and-bye, ’ the mother cried – ‘by-and-bye,

Strong and sturdy at my side,

Like a staff supporting me,

Will my bonnie baby be.

Break my rest, then, wail and cry –

Thou’lt repay me by-and-bye - by-and-bye.’

Fleeting years of time have sped – hurried by –

Still the maiden is unwed:

All unknown soldier lies,

Buried under alien skies;

And the son, with blood-shot eye,

Saw his mother starve and die.

God in heaven! dost Thou on high

Keep the promised ‘by-and-bye’ - by-and-bye?

Ella Wheeler Wilcox