SAID Death, the king, unto the jester, Fate "My subjects chafe, those who have come of late— They say their narrow beds are hard and cold; And they would wander, as they did of old!" Said Fate, the jester, unto Death, the king: "Let them go free, let them go wandering; Let them go back and visit once again The scenes they loved there in the world of men. "Yes, give them freedom—let them have their hour And give to each returning ghost the power To stay among his loved ones as of old, Provided he shall find them—unconsoled!" So spake the jester, Fate, to Death, the king, And all the troubled ghosts went wandering.— Next day Fate asked: "How fare the restless dead?" "Now all are quiet in their graves!" Death said. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...BOSTON HYMN; READ IN MUSIC HALL, JANUARY 1, 1863 by RALPH WALDO EMERSON SONNET: 57 by WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE MAN FRAIL AND GOD ETERNAL by ISAAC WATTS ROMANCE by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH THE MAIDS OF ELFIN-MERE by WILLIAM ALLINGHAM MY SOUL by NETTIE STEPHENSON BOWEN |