 | [Poems by Whittier in] A Study of Whittier's Apprenticeship as a Poet |  |
190
AT THE GRAVE OF A VERY YOUNG LADY
Weep not for them who go
In life's young hours,
To lay them down below
The churchyard flowers;
Thy tears, fond mourner fall
Upon the peaceful grave of all,
For which their own would flow:
Weep not for them.
In life's young hours,
To lay them down below
The churchyard flowers;
Thy tears, fond mourner fall
Upon the peaceful grave of all,
For which their own would flow:
Weep not for them.
Their years have passed away
Like their own dreams;
Or the last light of day
On silent streams,
For they had yet to know,
That joy is but the veil of wo,
Seem lovely as it may;
Weep not for them.
Like their own dreams;
Or the last light of day
On silent streams,
For they had yet to know,
That joy is but the veil of wo,
Seem lovely as it may;
Weep not for them.
They die as flowers have died,
Laid low at morn,
When all their hues of pride
Were proudly worn;
Not left to feel at last,
The death chill of the mighty blast,
And wither side by side;
Weep not for them.
Laid low at morn,
When all their hues of pride
Were proudly worn;
Not left to feel at last,
The death chill of the mighty blast,
And wither side by side;
Weep not for them.
But weep for them who stay,
When friends are gone,
While years of dull decay
Move darkly on,
Like sentinels that keep
Their lonely watch while others sleep
The stormy night away;
Oh, weep for them.
When friends are gone,
While years of dull decay
Move darkly on,
Like sentinels that keep
Their lonely watch while others sleep
The stormy night away;
Oh, weep for them.
Soft on our lost one's breast,
The turf shall lie;
And oh, thus to be blest,
Who would not die!
She slumbers not to wake—
No step, no voice, no dream shall break
The stillness of her rest;
Weep not for her.
The turf shall lie;
And oh, thus to be blest,
Who would not die!
191
No step, no voice, no dream shall break
The stillness of her rest;
Weep not for her.
New England Weekly Review October 20, 1828
| [Poems by Whittier in] A Study of Whittier's Apprenticeship as a Poet | |