She started up, then with a piercing shriek
Fell back, expiring on the speechless clay
Of him whose life so lately ebbed away.
As campfires gleamed, and heaven's orb, serene
With borrowed radiance, o'erflowed the scene,
Within a grave, beneath the crimson sands,
I laid them both to rest with my own hands.
In lieu of prayer, or solemn dirge, was heard
The twittering cadence of the mockingbird,