I. WEEP not for him that dieth-- For he sleeps, and is at rest; And the couch whereon he lieth Is the green earth's quiet breast: But weep for him who pineth On a far land's hateful shore, Who wearily declineth Where ye see his face no more! II. Weep not for him that dieth, For friends are round his bed, And many a young lip sigheth When they name the early dead; But weep for him that liveth Where none will know or care, When the groan his faint heart giveth Is the last sigh of despair. III. Weep not for him that dieth, For his struggling soul is free, And the world from which it flieth Is a world of misery; But weep for him that weareth The captive's galling chain: To the agony he beareth, Death were but little pain. IV. Weep not for him that dieth, For he hath ceased from tears, And a voice to his replieth Which he hath not heard for years; But weep for him who weepeth On that cold land's cruel shore-- Blest, blest is he that sleepeth,-- Weep for the dead no more! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...EPITAPH by LASCELLES ABERCROMBIE COUNTRY SUMMER by LEONIE ADAMS HIC JACET by LOUISE CHANDLER MOULTON THE LITTLE CROSS by EDITH AGNEW LADY OF CASTLENORE; A.D. 1700 by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH FIRST MATERNITY by KATHARINE BROWN BURT |