| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900. |
| |
| 63. On the Death of Joseph Rodman Drake |
| | | By Fitz-Greene Halleck |
| |
| |
| GREEN be the turf above thee, | |
| Friend of my better days! | |
| None knew thee but to love thee, | |
| Nor named thee but to praise. | |
| |
| Tears fell when thou wert dying, | 5 |
| From eyes unused to weep, | |
| And long, where thou art lying, | |
| Will tears the cold turf steep. | |
| |
| When hearts, whose truth was proven, | |
| Like thine, are laid in earth, | 10 |
| There should a wreath be woven | |
| To tell the world their worth; | |
| |
| And I who woke each morrow | |
| To clasp thy hand in mine, | |
| Who shared thy joy and sorrow, | 15 |
| Whose weal and woe were thine; | |
| |
| It should be mine to braid it | |
| Around thy faded brow, | |
| But I ’ve in vain essayed it, | |
| And feel I cannot now. | 20 |
| |
| While memory bids me weep thee, | |
| Nor thoughts nor words are free,— | |
| The grief is fixed too deeply | |
| That mourns a man like thee. | |
| |
|
|
|
