 | The poet, the fool and the faeries |  |
249
THE BURDEN OF THE BURIED DEAD
He heard a footstep on the road
Before the black cock woke and crew:
It was the step of one he knew,
Of one who bore a weary load,
When the lonely night was waning.
Before the black cock woke and crew:
It was the step of one he knew,
Of one who bore a weary load,
When the lonely night was waning.
He dared not stop or turn his head.
He knew what followed through the night.
He knew the burden was not light,
The burden of the buried dead,
When the dreary dawn was gaining.
He knew what followed through the night.
He knew the burden was not light,
The burden of the buried dead,
When the dreary dawn was gaining.
He knew that his dead self would pass,
Bowed earthward by that thing of fear:
He heard its footstep very near,
Behind him in the withered grass—
Where the wind kept on complaining.
Bowed earthward by that thing of fear:
He heard its footstep very near,
Behind him in the withered grass—
Where the wind kept on complaining.
But when the black cock crew for dawn
His soul took heart to turn and see—
Empty the road and shadowy
Stretched far away with naught thereon—
And the wild, gray dawn broke raining.
His soul took heart to turn and see—
Empty the road and shadowy
Stretched far away with naught thereon—
And the wild, gray dawn broke raining.
| The poet, the fool and the faeries | |