Warning and Reply
In the earth—the earth—thou shalt be laid,A grey stone standing over thee;Black mould beneath thee spread,And black mould to cover thee.
“Well—there is rest there,So fast come thy prophecy;The time when my sunny hairShall with grass roots entwined be.”
But cold—cold is that resting-place,Shut out from joy and liberty,And all who loved thy living faceWill shrink from it shudderingly,
“Not so. HERE the world is chill,And sworn friends fall from me:But THERE—they will own me still,And prize my memory.”
Farewell, then, all that love,All that deep sympathy:Sleep on: Heaven laughs above,Earth never misses thee.
Turf-sod and tombstone drearPart human company;One heart breaks only—here,But that heart was worthy thee!