In the tem­pest of life,
When the wave and the gale
Are around and above,
If thy foot­ing should fail,
If thine eye should grow dim,
And thy cau­tion de­part,
Look aloft! and be firm,
And be fearl­ess of heart.

If the friend who em­braced
In pros­per­ity’s glow,
With a smile for each joy,
And a tear for each woe,
Should be­tray thee, when sor­rows
Like clouds are ar­rayed,
Look aloft to the friend­ship
Which ne­ver shall fade.

Should the vi­sions which hope
Spreads in light to thine eye,
Like the tints of the rain­bow,
But bright­en to fly,
Then turn, and through tears
Of re­pent­ant re­gret,
Look aloft to the sun
That is ne­ver to set.

Should the dear­est of earth,
The son of thy heart,
The wife of thy bo­som
In sor­row depart,
Look aloft from the dark­ness
And dust of the tomb,
To that soil where af­fect­ion
Is ev­er in bloom.

And oh, when death comes
In his ter­rors to cast,
His fears on the fu­ture,
His pall on the past,
In that mo­ment of dark­ness,
With hope in thy heart,
And a smile in thine eye,
Look aloft and de­part.