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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


EPITAPH by THOMAS SHERIDAN (1687-1738)

First Line: BENEATH THIS VERDANT HILLOCK LIES
Last Line: WILL THINK HIS BETTER HALF ALIVE.

Beneath this verdant hillock lies
Demar the wealthy and the wise.
His heirs for winding-sheet bestowed
His money-bags together sewed;
And that he might securely rest,
Have put his carcase in a chest:
The very chest in which they say
His other self, his money, lay.
And if his heirs continue kind
To that dear self he left behind,
I dare believe that four in five
Will think his better half alive.



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