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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

TIMOR MORTIS, by                    
First Line: In what estate so ever I be / timor mortis conturbat me
Last Line: And from the fiend he us preserve. / timor mortis conturbat me
Subject(s): Forgiveness;prayer;sin; Clemency


In what estate so ever I be
Timor mortis conturbat me.
As I went on a merry morning,
I heard a bird both weep and sing.
This was the tenor of her talking:
"Timor mortis conturbat me."
I asked that bird what she meant.
"I am a musket both fair and gent;
For dread of death I am all shent.:
Timor mortis conturbat me.
"When I shall die, I know no day;
What country or place I cannot say;
Wherefore this song sing I may:
Timor mortis conturbat me.
"Jesu Christ, when he should die,
To his Father he gan say,
"Father,' he said, "in Trinity,
Timor mortis conturbat me.'
"All Christian people, behold and see:
This world is but a vanity
And replete with necessity.
Timor mortis conturbat me.
"Wake I or sleep, eate or drink,
When I on my last end do think,
For greate fear my soul do shrink:
Timor mortis conturbat me.
"God grant us grace him for to serve,
And be at our end when we sterve,
And from the fiend he us preserve.
Timor mortis conturbat me."






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