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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE SOUL OF PETER GARCIA; A SPANISH LEGEND by AMOS RUSSEL WELLS

First Line: TWO LADS ESPIED A MOULDERING STONE
Last Line: THE SOUL OF PETER GARCIA.

Two lads espied a mouldering stone,
With moss and lichens overgrown,
Yet showing to their sharp young eyes
These most perplexing words: "Here lies
The soul of Peter Garcia."

"Now that's a silly thing," one said,
"To mar the gravestone of the dead!
Here lie the bones, the brain, the heart,
But heaven has the immortal part,
The soul, of Peter Garcia."

He turned away with mocking air,
And left the other standing there --
The other, who, though frail and weak,
Pried up the heavy stone, to seek
The soul of Peter Garcia.

And there he found it! -- gleaming bright,
A lustrous, glittering, awful sight,
A monstrous huddle-heap of gold,
The prize for which a life was sold --
The soul of Peter Garcia.



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