 | Poems by Two Brothers |  |
16
‘WHY SHOULD WE WEEP FOR THOSE WHO DIE?’
“Quamobrem, si dolorum finem mors affert, si securioris et
melioris initium vitæ: si futura mala avertit—cur eam tantopere
accusare, ex qua potius consolationem et lætitiam haurire fas
esset?”
—Cicero.
Why should we weep for those who die?
They fall—their dust returns to dust;
Their souls shall live eternally
Within the mansions of the just.
They fall—their dust returns to dust;
Their souls shall live eternally
Within the mansions of the just.
They die to live—they sink to rise,
They leave this wretched mortal shore;
But brighter suns and bluer skies
Shall smile on them for evermore.
They leave this wretched mortal shore;
But brighter suns and bluer skies
Shall smile on them for evermore.
Why should we sorrow for the dead?
Our life on earth is but a span;
They tread the path that all must tread,
They die the common death of man.
Our life on earth is but a span;
They tread the path that all must tread,
They die the common death of man.
17
The noblest songster of the gale
Must cease, when Winter's frowns appear;
The reddest rose is wan and pale,
When Autumn tints the changing year.
Must cease, when Winter's frowns appear;
The reddest rose is wan and pale,
When Autumn tints the changing year.
The fairest flower on earth must fade,
The brightest hopes on earth must die:
Why should we mourn that man was made
To droop on earth, but dwell on high?
The brightest hopes on earth must die:
Why should we mourn that man was made
To droop on earth, but dwell on high?
The soul, th' eternal soul, must reign
In worlds devoid of pain and strife;
Then why should mortal man complain
Of death, which leads to happier life?
In worlds devoid of pain and strife;
Then why should mortal man complain
Of death, which leads to happier life?
A. T.
| Poems by Two Brothers | |