We know not yet what they shall be
When we shall see them as they are;
We'll keep the essence of them free
We will not think of them as far.
When we shall see them as they are
No longer hidden by a veil,
We will not think of them as far
We will not think of them as frail.
No longer hidden by a veil,
No longer vague, no longer dim,
We will not think of them as frail —
The bygone her, the former him.
No longer vague, no longer dim,
They are immutably themselves
(The bygone her, the former him,
Not memories laid away on shelves)
They are immutably themselves:
We knew them once, we know them still
(Not memories laid away on shelves).
Illumined by the Father's will,
We knew them once, we know them still.
How strange that we had thought them gone!
Illumined by the Father's will,
They shine as they are shone upon.
How strange that we had thought them gone;
We'll keep the essence of them free.
They shine as they are shone upon —
We know not yet what they shall be.
