Tyler Guards The Door

[Blake Bowden]

By Victor Roy 1882

"Brother, we have met before,
Where the Tyler guards the door,
We have given the well-known sign,
That has blent our souls with thine,

Now this eve, thou giv'st no word,
Back to our souls deep stired,
For the Angel Tylers wait,
At thy Lodge Room's mystic gate .

"Brother, thou art taking rest,
We must still the wild storm breast,
We must build through mist and night,
Thou hast seen the quenchless Light,
While we hew the shapeless stone,
Thou hast bowed before the Throne,
While we tread the chequered floor,
Thou hast pass'd the golden door.

"Oh Companion, were we there,
Ended every pleading prayer,
Ended all the work and toil,
Gathered all the fruit and spoil,
Finished all the war of sin,
By the Warden's hand shut in,

Brother; once again with thee,
What would our first greeting be?
"Loved Companions, we have given,
To the guardianship of Heaven,
Our Brother's precious dust,
And in memory of the just,
Be it ours still to guard,
All he loved, with watch and ward,
Till like him we reach a shore,
Where these sorrows come no more."