And thou art dead, as young and fair
As aught of mortal birth;
And forms so soft and charms so rare
Too soon return’d to Earth!
Though Earth received them in her bed,
And o’er the spot the crowd may tread
In carelessness or mirth,
There is an eye which could not brook
A moment on that grave to look.
I will not ask where thou liest low
Nor gaze upon the spot;
There flowers and weeds at will may grow
So I behold them not:
It is enough for me to prove
That what I loved and long must love
Like common earth can rot;
To me there needs no stone to tell
‘Tis Nothing that I loved so well.
Yet did I love thee to the last,
As fervently as thou
Who didst not change through all the past
And canst not alter now.
The love where Death has set his seal
Nor age can chill, nor rival steal,
Nor falsehood disavow:
And, what were worse, thou canst not see
Or wrong, or change, or fault in me.
The better days of life were ours;
The worst can be but mine:
The sun that cheers, the storm that lours
Shall never more be thine.
The silence of that dreamless sleep
I envy now too much to weep;
Nor need I to repine
That all those charms have pass’d away
I might have watch’d through long decay.
The flower in ripen’d bloom unmatch’d
Must fall the earliest prey;
Though by no hand untimely snatch’d,
The leaves must drop away.
And yet it were a greater grief
To watch it withering, leaf by leaf,
Than see it pluck’d to-day;
Since earthly eye but ill can bear
To trace the change from foul to fair.
I know not if I could have borne
To see thy beauties fade;
The night that follow’d such a morn
Had worn a deeper shade:
Thy day without a cloud hath past,
And thou wert lovely to the last,
Extinguish’d, not decay’d;
As stars that shoot along the sky
Shine brightest as they fall from high.
As once I wept if I could weep,
My tears might well be shed
To think I was not near, to keep
One vigil o’er thy bed:
To gaze, how fondly! on thy face,
To fold thee in a faint embrace,
Uphold thy drooping head;
And show that love, however vain,
Nor thou nor I can feel again.
Yet how much less it were to gain,
Though thou hast left me free,
The loveliest things that still remain
Than thus remember thee!
The all of thine that cannot die
Through dark and dread Eternity
Returns again to me,
And more thy buried love endears
Than aught except its living years.
Funeral Poems & Readings
Elegy On Thyrza
A funeral poem for comfort during unsettling times
Print
Elegy On Thyrza
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
WhatsApp
Email
Print
Funeral Shop
Keeping the memory alive. See our high-quality range of funeral products and jewellery including urns, ash pendants, keepsakes, candle holders, bracelets, rings and more.
More Funeral Poems
My Grandmother
In my rose garden of memories, I see you standing there, An angel in disguise, Who taught me how to care. I long to hear ...
Read Full Poem →
Missing My Sister And Best Friend
One morning I found you in eternal sleep; I tried to wake you as I began to weep, But all my pleas you could not ...
Read Full Poem →
How I Feel
Sometimes I just wish I could run away and hide. No matter where I go though, these feelings stay inside. How can I stay here ...
Read Full Poem →
But Not Forgotten
I think, no matter where you stray, That I shall go with you a way. Though you may wander sweeter lands, You will not soon ...
Read Full Poem →
A Child Of Mine
I will lend you, for a little time, A child of mine, He said. For you to love the while he lives, And mourn for ...
Read Full Poem →
To Those Whom I Love & Those Who Love Me
When I am gone, release me, let me go. I have so many things to see and do, You mustn’t tie yourself to me with ...
Read Full Poem →
Stillness
Eternal lights flicker In a distant sky. Where have you gone; Why did you die? When I first saw you, You stole my heart, And ...
Read Full Poem →
But You Didn’t
Remember the time you lent me your car and I dented it? I thought you’d kill me… But you didn’t. Remember the time I forgot ...
Read Full Poem →
Untitled Poem on Dying
Life! I know not what thou art, But know that thou and I must part; And when, or how, or where we met I own ...
Read Full Poem →
All Is Well
Death is nothing at all, I have only slipped into the next room I am I and you are you Whatever we were to each ...
Read Full Poem →
Goodbye
I never knew a single word could alter all it touched I never knew a word could make me cry I never knew our last ...
Read Full Poem →
It’s Strange
It’s strange we don’t appreciate The things we see each day We never know their value Till they’re cruelly snatched away Things I took for ...
Read Full Poem →
Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the ...
Read Full Poem →
My Lost Love
I have only just lost you; the pain is hard to bear. Do I have to go through life knowing you’re not there? Please, someone ...
Read Full Poem →
To Sleep
O soft embalmer of the still midnight, Shutting, with careful Fingers and benign, Our gloom-pleas‘d eyes, Embower‘d from the light, Enshaded in forgetfulness divine: O ...
Read Full Poem →