THEY ARE JUST AWAY

You cannot say
You must not say,
That they are dead,
They are just away!

With a cheery smile
And a wave of the hand
They have wandered into
An unknown land.
And left us dreaming
How very fair,
Its needs must be
Since they linger there.

So think of them
As fairing on,
As dear in the love of there
As of the love of here,
Think of them still,
As the same and say
They are not dead
They are just away.

---by James Whitcomb Riley