ALL summer long the people knelt And listened at the sick man's door: Each pang which that pale sufferer felt Throbbed through the land from shore to shore; And as the all-dreaded hour drew nigh, What breathless watching, night and day! What tears, what prayers! Great God on high, Have we forgotten how to pray! O broken-hearted, widowed one, Forgive us if we press too near! Dead is our husband, father, son, -- For we are all one household here. And not alone here by the sea, And not in his own land alone, Are tears of anguish shed with thee -- In this one loss the world is one. EPITAPH A man not perfect, but of heart So high, of such heroic rage, That even his hopes became a part Of earth's eternal heritage. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...IN A STRANGE CITY by LOUIS UNTERMEYER MEETING AT NIGHT by ROBERT BROWNING IN THE DEEP WHITE SNOW by ANNE ATWOOD MATRIMONIAL MELODIES: 6. TO ANY WIFE by BERTON BRALEY THE KIRK'S ALARM by ROBERT BURNS EARLY NIGHT by RICHARD EUGENE BURTON |