 | The book of the dead |  |
136
[LXIV. I watched at eve beside thy tomb]
I watched at eve beside thy tomb,
With something like a pang of shame;
For snails had crawled from out the gloom,
And dragged their tracks across thy name.
With something like a pang of shame;
For snails had crawled from out the gloom,
And dragged their tracks across thy name.
Across thy sacred name I saw
The foul defacers' oozing slime;
And marvelled at the higher law
That made such sacrilege no crime.
The foul defacers' oozing slime;
And marvelled at the higher law
That made such sacrilege no crime.
The worms were fled, the tomb defiled;
In vain my wrath; I could but weep.
Then knelt I down, and, as a child,
A faintly prayed myself to sleep.
In vain my wrath; I could but weep.
Then knelt I down, and, as a child,
A faintly prayed myself to sleep.
Dawn broke at length; I raised my head;
The desecrating stains had flown;
And on the tablet of the dead
Some hand had laid a lily down.
The desecrating stains had flown;
And on the tablet of the dead
Some hand had laid a lily down.
| The book of the dead | |