Could life exist without death?

There is no death!

The stars go down

To rise upon some fairer shore―

And bright in heaven's jewelled crown

They shine for evermore.

There is no death!

The dust we tread

Shall change beneath the summer showers

To golden grain or mellow fruit―

Or rainbow-tinted flowers.

The granite rocks disorganise

To feed the hungry moss they bear―

The fairest leaves drink daily life

From out the viewless air.

There is no death!

The leaves may fall―

The flowers may fade and pass away―

They only wait through wintry hours

The coming of the May.

And ever near us, though unseen―

The dear immortal spirits tread―

For all the boundless universe

Is life―there are no dead.

―By a Spirit