Not a green willow, veiled to hide her weeping, Not a slim aspen, trembling and afraid, Not a white birch tree, beautiful and lonely -- Let none of these be planted at my head. I would forget, when I at last am sleeping, All that these are mourning in solitude and tears, I would have done with memory, and only Rest in hushed peace throughout the uncaring years. Give me an oak, by bitter storms unriven, Earth-rooted deep, but striving towards the stars, Fearless and tender, in the gray dusk weaving Shadowy cloaks to cover ancient scars. There let me lie, and know that death has given All that I sought and never found in life -- Strength for a shelter, solace for long grieving, Rest after labor, quiet after strife! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...ADOLF EICHMANN by HAYDEN CARRUTH DRIVING INTO LARAMIE by JAMES GALVIN NOTES FOR THE FIRST LINE OF A SPANISH POEM by JAMES GALVIN THE GIANTS OF HISTORY by JAMES GALVIN THE SMALL SELF AND THE LIBERAL SELF by JAMES GALVIN THE LIFE SO SHORT by EAMON GRENNAN TO GALLANT FRANCE by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON |