Meeting, I said good-bye in hope

I said good-bye in hope;
  But, now we meet again,
I have no hope at all
  Of anything but pain,—
Our parting and our meeting
     Alike in vain.

Hope on through all your life
  Until the end, dear friend:
Live through your noble life
  Where joy and promise blend—
I too will live my life—
     Until the end.

Long may your vine entwine,
  Long may your fig-tree spread,
Their paradise of shade
  Above your cherished head:
My shelter was a gourd,
     And it is dead.

Yet, when out of a grave
  We are gathered home at last,
Then may we own life spilt
  No good worth holding fast:—
Death had its bitterness,
     But it is past.