Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, LINES ON A DEAD GIRL, by PRISCILLA JANE THOMPSON


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

LINES ON A DEAD GIRL, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Close the dim eyes, for expression hath left them
Last Line: Saying, 'amen' to her summons to rest.
Subject(s): Death; Dead, The


CLOSE the dim eyes, for expression hath left them;
Arrange the limp hands, ere stiffness ensue;
Cover her over, with a cloth of pure whiteness;
Reverence her clay, it is all we can do.

Never again shall those calm lips be parted,
Displaying the pearl in the sunshine of mirth;
Never those dim eyes in sympathy kindle,
Nature hath claimed her dust for the earth.

Ever her image is bright in our vision,
Recalling so vividly, days that are fled;
Days, when her light step, her smile, and her beauty,
Seemed more for the living, than marked for the dead.

Short was her day -- so early she faded;
Sank as the sun sinks, behind a great hill --
And, though his grand form is lost to the vision,
The light of his splendor is lingering still.

Long may the light of her splendor be with us --
Spreading a balm, that shall soothe ev'ry breast;
Soon may we muse on her, with resignation;
Saying, 'Amen' to her summons to rest.






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