The poetical works of William Lisle Bowles ... with memoir, critical dissertation, and explanatory notes, by the Rev. George Gilfillan |
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 | The poetical works of William Lisle Bowles |  |
THE GRAVE OF BISHOP KEN.
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On yonder heap of earth forlorn,Where Ken his place of burial chose,
Peacefully shine, O Sabbath morn!
And, eve, with gentlest hush, repose.
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To him is reared no marble tomb,Within the dim cathedral fane;
But some faint flowers, of summer bloom,
And silent falls the wintry rain.
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No village monumental stoneRecords a verse, a date, a name—
What boots it? when thy task is done,
Christian, how vain the sound of fame!
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Oh! far more grateful to thy God,The voices of poor children rise,
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“To pay their morning sacrifice.”
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And can we listen to their hymn,Heard, haply, when the evening knell
Sounds, where the village brow is dim,
As if to bid the world farewell!
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Without a thought that from the dustThe morn shall wake the sleeping clay,
And bid the faithful and the just
Upspring to heaven's eternal day!
| The poetical works of William Lisle Bowles | |