Why dost thou sorrow for the happy dead? For if their life be lost their toils are o'er, And woe and want can trouble them no more; Nor ever slept they in an earthly bed So sound as now they sleep, while dreamless laid In the dark chambers of the unknown shore, Where Night and Silence guard each sealed door. So-turn from such as thee thy drooping head And mourn the dead alive, whose spirit flies, Whose life departs, before his death has come; Who knows no Heaven beyond his gloomy skies; Who sees no Hope to brighten up that gloom: 'Tis he who feels the worm that never dies, The real death and darkness of a tomb! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...ODE TO THE BROWN PAPER BAG by JAMES GALVIN MARTHA WASHINGTON by SIDNEY LANIER AT THE MERMAID TAVERN (APRIL 10, 1613) by EDGAR LEE MASTERS DOMESDAY BOOK: HENRY BAKER, AT NEW YORK by EDGAR LEE MASTERS DOMESDAY BOOK: REV. PERCY FERGUSON by EDGAR LEE MASTERS SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: MAGRADY GRAHAM by EDGAR LEE MASTERS |