AFTER THE BURIAL.

All hath been finished now;

And from the darkened brow

Of the grave the people move,

Pondering his own heart to prove,

Each unto his home.

While of the old dead's demesne

Hallowed fancies come,

Living and clear, urgent and fain,

As they visit in thought again

And again the place where remain

Their fathers, the sons of many ages,

Gathered from the ever-turning pages

Of the volume of time,

Like a long running rhyme--

Old age and youth,

Falsehood and truth,

Beauty and pride

Side unto side

In that old churchyard,

In the sacred guard

Of hallowed rest.

Then a behest

Moveth the breast

To be holy and meek,

Lowly to seek

Life unto life,

Bearing through strife

Unto the end,

Trying to blend

Love unto life.

A Leaf from the Old Forest · 第 67 / 97 题