Why dost thou sorrow for the happy dead? For if their life be lost their toils are o'er, And woe and want can trouble them no more; Nor ever slept they in an earthly bed So sound as now they sleep, while dreamless laid In the dark chambers of the unknown shore, Where Night and Silence guard each sealed door. So-turn from such as thee thy drooping head And mourn the dead alive, whose spirit flies, Whose life departs, before his death has come; Who knows no Heaven beyond his gloomy skies; Who sees no Hope to brighten up that gloom: 'Tis he who feels the worm that never dies, The real death and darkness of a tomb! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...PALABRAS CARINOSAS (SPANISH AIR) by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH ON THE LOSS OF THE ROYAL GEORGE by WILLIAM COWPER TROILUS AND CRESSIDA: SONG by JOHN DRYDEN GOOD AND BAD LUCK by HEINRICH HEINE IN HOSPITAL: 2. WAITING by WILLIAM ERNEST HENLEY WEDDED (PROVENCAL AIR) by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH |