University of Virginia Library

A Last Wish.—Anonymous.

When breath and sense have left this clay,
In yon damp vault, O, lay me not!
But kindly bear my bones away
To some lone, green, and sunny spot;
Where few shall be the feet that tread,
With reckless haste, upon my grave;
And gently, o'er my last, still bed,
To whispering winds, the grass shall wave.
The wild flowers, too, I loved so well,
Shall blow, and breathe their sweetness there,
And all around my grave shall tell,
“She felt that nature's face was fair.”
And those that come because they loved
The mouldering frame that lies below,
Shall find their anguish half removed,
While that sweet spot shall soothe their wo.
The notes of happy birds alone
Shall there disturb the silent air;
And when the cheerful sun goes down,
His beams shall linger longest there.
And if,—when soft night breezes wake,
Roving among the sleeping flowers,
When dews their airy home forsake,
To rest till morn in earthly bowers,—
If, then, some dearer friend than all
Steal to my grave to weep awhile,
And happier hours awhile recall,
And bid fond memory beguile
The tediousness of cherished grief—
Faintly descried—a fading ray—
My passing ghost shall breathe relief,
And whisper—“Lingerer, come away!”