 | The Poetical Works of Caroline Bowles Southey |  |
102
THE PAUPER'S DEATHBED.
Tread softly—bow the head—
In reverent silence bow—
No passing bell doth toll,
Yet an immortal soul
Is passing now.
In reverent silence bow—
No passing bell doth toll,
Yet an immortal soul
Is passing now.
Stranger! however great,
With lowly reverence bow;
There's one in that poor shed—
One by that paltry bed,
Greater than thou.
With lowly reverence bow;
There's one in that poor shed—
One by that paltry bed,
Greater than thou.
Beneath that beggar's roof,
Lo! Death doth keep his state:
Enter—no crowds attend;
Enter—no guards defend
This palace gate.
Lo! Death doth keep his state:
Enter—no crowds attend;
Enter—no guards defend
This palace gate.
That pavement damp and cold
No smiling courtiers tread;
One silent woman stands
Lifting with meagre hands
A dying head.
No smiling courtiers tread;
One silent woman stands
Lifting with meagre hands
A dying head.
No mingling voices sound—
An infant wail alone;
A sob suppressed—again
That short deep gasp, and then
The parting groan.
An infant wail alone;
A sob suppressed—again
That short deep gasp, and then
The parting groan.
103
Oh, change! oh, wondrous change!
Burst are the prison bars:
This moment there, so low,
So agonised, and now
Beyond the stars!
Burst are the prison bars:
This moment there, so low,
So agonised, and now
Beyond the stars!
Oh, change! stupendous change!
There lies the soulless clod;
The Sun eternal breaks—
The new Immortal wakes—
Wakes with his God!
There lies the soulless clod;
The Sun eternal breaks—
The new Immortal wakes—
Wakes with his God!
| The Poetical Works of Caroline Bowles Southey | |