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Hymns for Second Advent Believers 40

Are, We Almost There?

Studio

1"ARE we almost there? Are we almost there?"
Says the weary saint as he sighs for home;
"Are those the verdant trees that rear
Their stately forms 'mid heaven's bright dome."

2Then he talks of the flowers, the unsullied stream,
That flows through the Paradise of God;
And he longs to wake from life's troubled dream,
To walk those golden streets abroad.

3He is weary and sick of this world's rude strife,
And pants for a holy, peaceful clime;
To glow with the vigor of endless life,
And be compass'd no more by the bounds of time.

4His eye is fixed on the world to come,
He walks by faith through this vale of care,
And oft inquires as he draws near home,
With anxious heart, "Are we almost there?"

5They bid him look at the charms of earth,
At the boasted trophies man doth rear;
To enter the giddy halls of mirth–
But ah! How vain do they all appear.

6For he's had an earnest of those joys
Which the righteous alone can ever share;
He turns with contempt from these earthly toys,
And fervently asks–" Are we almost there?"

7He is waiting to hear the trumpet sound,
And to meet his Saviour in the air;
The day-star dawns—soon with joyous bound,
He can say indeed–"We are almost there!"

Public Domain

The verse

Meter
10.10.8.9
Foot
iambic (da-DUM) · 34% of beats fit
Rhyme
ABAB
Scan every line

/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary

Verse 1

"ARE we almost there? Are we almost there?"˘˘///˘˘///10A
Says the weary saint as he sighs for home;/˘/˘/˘˘/˘/10B
"Are those the verdant trees that rear˘˘˘/˘/˘/8C
Their stately forms 'mid heaven's bright dome."˘/˘///˘//9B

Verse 2

Then he talks of the flowers, the unsullied stream,/˘/˘˘/˘˘˘/˘/12A
That flows through the Paradise of God;˘//˘/˘/˘/9B
And he longs to wake from life's troubled dream,˘˘/˘/˘//˘/10A
To walk those golden streets abroad.˘/˘/˘/˘/8C

Verse 3

He is weary and sick of this world's rude strife,˘˘/˘˘/˘˘///11A
And pants for a holy, peaceful clime;˘/˘˘/˘/˘?9B
To glow with the vigor of endless life,˘/˘˘/˘˘/˘/10A
And be compass'd no more by the bounds of time.˘˘/˘˘/˘˘/˘/11C

Verse 4

His eye is fixed on the world to come,˘/˘/˘˘/˘/9A
He walks by faith through this vale of care,˘/˘//˘/˘/9B
And oft inquires as he draws near home,˘///˘˘˘///10C
With anxious heart, "Are we almost there?"˘/˘/˘˘///9B

Verse 5

They bid him look at the charms of earth,˘/˘/˘˘/˘/9A
At the boasted trophies man doth rear;˘˘/˘/˘///9B
To enter the giddy halls of mirth–˘/˘˘/˘/˘/9A
But ah! How vain do they all appear.˘///˘˘/˘/9B

Verse 6

For he's had an earnest of those joys˘/˘˘/˘˘˘/9A
Which the righteous alone can ever share;˘˘/˘˘/˘/˘/10B
He turns with contempt from these earthly toys,˘/˘˘/˘˘/˘/10A
And fervently asks–" Are we almost there?"˘/˘˘/˘˘///10B

Verse 7

He is waiting to hear the trumpet sound,˘˘/˘˘/˘/˘/10A
And to meet his Saviour in the air;˘˘/˘/˘˘˘˘/10B
The day-star dawns—soon with joyous bound,˘??//˘/˘/9A
He can say indeed–"We are almost there!"˘˘///˘˘///10B

Counted by machine from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. It cannot hear emphasis or a poet’s licence, so treat it as a place to start reading, not the last word.