Beneath this stone lies one good man; and when We say his kindly thought towards all men Was as generous to the living as to the dead -- What more for any mortal could be said? His only enemies were those he tried To help, and failed; who blamed him, in their pride, Forgetting that his power was not as great As his intention -- and their own weak state. And if he met with men too slow to move Into the fullness of his own clear love, He looked for the fault in his own self, and not Blamed other men -- like our more common lot. His boundless trust and innocence of evil Tempted the base and mean, and helped the devil. Since such a man, without suspicion, kind, Was duped by many a false, ungrateful mind, He's gone to Heaven -- because he lived so well That many a wretch through him has gone to hell. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE CROWING OF THE RED COCK by EMMA LAZARUS ULTIMA THULE: MY CATHEDRAL by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW PSALM OF THOSE WHO GO FORTH BEFORE DAYLIGHT by CARL SANDBURG TIMES GO BY TURNS by ROBERT SOUTHWELL LITTLE GIFFEN by FRANCIS ORRERY TICKNOR |