Coming Home

In hearts of men through all the years
One instinct's e'er held sway;
Through toil and strife, through joy and mirth,
In winter or in May:
In frigid zone or tropic isle,
Where'er man's footsteps roam;
Deep in his soul the vital urge
Of some day "Coming Home".

Like others, I have cast my lot
Away from scenes of youth;
I've known the sting of perfidy,
I've gleaned the grains of truth.
I've met success and failure too,
I've laughed and I have wept;
But home-ties bound my very life,
From dangers often kept.

I've known the plaudits of the crowd,
I've shrunk from gibes and jeers;
I've climbed the heights, or hopelessly
My eyes have filled with tears.
But now, all's well, my heart is light,
Nor fear when troubles come,
When 'round about me all is love
And I have come back home.

The old home stands a monument
To faith and constancy;
I seem to see my father here
In honest dignity.
See mother and her love of home,
In patience giving all;
Their presence here is felt tonight,
'Though gone beyond recall.

We sons and daughters of the two
Are met in memory
Of other days when steadfast hands
Controlled our destiny.
We homage pay here at this shrine,
Our hearts feel new and clean.
We see our yesterdays unfold
In each familiar scene.

We feel the warmth of comradeship,
Of understanding hearts;
And in our souls a clear response
To all that love imparts.
Tonight we see the days that were,
The Heart-aches and the joys;
The guiding hands of those who've gone,
When we were girls and boys.

Tonight we'll sleep beneath the roof
That sheltered us for years;
We'll wander through the hollowed rooms
That knew our smiles and tears;
And in our dreams we may tonight
Re-live the joys we've had;
And forge a stronger, deathless link
With mother and with dad.

The passing years have taken toll
Since we were gay and young;
Our yesterdays seem but a dream,
A song that has been sung.
Tomorrow? There our visions dims.
Will we know sweet contents,
And will the short time we have left
Bring peace and recompense?

Somehow we know that after all
Is said and all is done;
Our lives will merge with the Infinite,
At the setting of our sun.
Our prayers of hope through faltering lips
Will reach to Heaven's dome;
And tired hearts know naught but peace,
For we'll be "Coming Home".

Howard