Why deck with flow'rs these humble mounds? Why gather round this fast decaying mold? Why doth remembrance keep her solemn rounds And wrap these sleepers in her loving fold? Why kneel, ye silent mourners, here To drop the reverential tear? Flesh is but dust when parted from the breath. Flesh is but dust, but worth of soul is gold! 'Tis not the dust we honor, but the brave And noble spirits that it once did hold. So kneel we weeping at the grave, As at the door through which have passed, To enter into mansions vast, The heroes who have gone to meet A dearer destiny than dirgeful death. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...AFTER DIVORCE; FOR NAHID SARMAD by KAREN SWENSON THE STATE OF WYOMING by KAREN SWENSON THE FRIENDLY WOOD by PAUL VALERY LOVE LIES BLEEDING by CHRISTINA GEORGINA ROSSETTI FIELD AMBULANCE IN RETREAT; VIA DOLOROSA, VIA SACRA by MAY SINCLAIR |