University of Virginia Library

DEATH SONG.

There lies a cold corpse upon the sands
Down by the rolling sea;
Close up the eyes and straighten the hands,
As a Christian man's should be.
Bury it deep, for the good of my soul,
Six feet below the ground;
Let the sexton come and the death-bell toll,
And good men stand around.

41

Lay it among the churchyard stones,
Where the priest hath blessed the clay;
I cannot leave the unburied bones,
And I fain would go my way.
1835