Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

NOW by ELEANOR ALEXANDER

First Line: FOR ME, MY FRIEND, NO GRAVE-SIDE VIGIL KEEP
Last Line: GIVE ME YOUR SONGS, AND FLOWERS, AND LAUGHTER NOW.
Subject(s): LOVE;
For me, my friend, no grave-side vigil keep
With tears that memory and remorse might fill;
Give me your tenderest laughter earth-bound still,
And when I die you shall not want to weep.
No epitaph for me with virtues deep
Punctured in marble pitiless and chill:
But when play time is over, if you will,
The songs that soothe beloved babes to sleep.
No lenten lilies on my breast and brow
Be laid when I am silent; roses red,
And golden roses bring me here instead,
That if you love or bear me I may know;
I may not know, nor care, when I am dead
Give me your songs, and flowers, and laughter now.



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