STAY! this grave deserves a tear; 'Tis not a corse, but life lies here: May be thine own, at least some part, And thou the walking marble art. 'Tis Vaux! whom Art and Nature gave A power to pluck men from the grave; When others' drugs made ghosts of men, His gave them back their flesh agen; 'Tis he lies here, and thou and I May wonder he found time to die; So busied was he, and so rife, Distributing both health and life. Honour his marble with your tears, You, to whom he hath added years; You, whose life's light he was about So careful, that his own went out. Be you his living monument! or we Will rather think you in the grave than he. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...TO A WATERFOWL by WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT THE LAST CHANTEY by RUDYARD KIPLING THE SHEPHEARDES CALENDER: FEBRUARY by EDMUND SPENSER SONG OF THE SATYRS TO ARIADNE by WILLIAM ROSE BENET |