Obituary of Duncan Burleigh

High up in the courts of Heaven today
A little dog-angel waits.
With the other dogs he will not play,
He just sits alone at the Gates.

”For I know my Master will come”, says he,
”And when he comes, he will call for me.”

He sees the spirits that pass his by
As they hasten towards the throne,
And he watches them with a wistful eye
As he sits at the gate alone;

"But I know if I just wait patiently
That someday my Master will come," says he.

And his Master far down on the earth below,
As he sits in his easy chair
Forgets sometimes, and he whistles low
For the dog that is not there;

And the little dog-angel cocks his ears
And dreams that her Master’s call he hears.

And I know when at length his Master waits
Outside in the dark and cold
For the hand of Death to open the gates
That lead to the Courts of Gold,

The little dog-angel's eager bark
Will comfort his soul while he's still in the dark.

Norah M. Holland, 1870