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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


A WAYSIDE GRAVE by LEONIDAS OF TARENTUM

First Line: WHO ART THOU? WHOSE RELICS, I WONDER
Last Line: AFFORD THEE SO MUCH AS A TEAR.
Subject(s): GRAVES; TOMBS; TOMBSTONES;

WHO @3art@1 thou? Whose relics, I wonder,
In a plot that the roadway runs through,
The coffin half-starting asunder,
Lie bare to the traveller's view?

Alas, by unceasing attrition
The axles and wheels of the wains
Have worn out of all recognition
The stone that once marked thy remains.

The wheels very soon in foul fashion
Will be grinding thy breast-bone, I fear,
Poor devil, and no man's compassion
Afford thee so much as a tear.



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