The year of shame by William Watson With an introduction by the Bishop of Hereford |
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| VII. | VII A HURRIED FUNERAL |
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 | The year of shame by William Watson |  |
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VII
A HURRIED FUNERAL
A little deeper, sexton. You forget,
She you would bury 'neath so thin a crust
Of loam, was fiery-souled, and ev'n in dust
She may lie restless, she may toss and fret,
Nay, she might break a seal too lightly set,
And vex, unmannerly, our ease! She must
Beneath no lack of English earth lie thrust,
Would we unhaunted sleep! Nay, deeper yet.
Quick, friend, the cortège comes. There—that will serve;
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If, in her coffin, at the last, amid
The mourners in the customary suits,
And to the scandal of these decent mutes,
This corpse of England's Honour burst the lid!
| The year of shame by William Watson | |