Trelawny's Grave[ToC]
I know a garden near the gates of Rome
Where Life and Death hold hands in silence; here
In solemn shade where towering cypress rear
Their green eternal, white as wind-led foam
Lie scattered stones that shield the final home
Of exiles. Fair their bed; by violets dear
And swaying roses decked; above them, clear
In bluest glory arches Heaven's dome.
'Twas here my heart encountered peace one day
Beside an old man's grave that said: If God
Condemn you live beyond your friend, this way
You too may rest.—The heart is childish; dread
Of earth-loss fades before Trelawny dead
Close-gathered to his Shelley in the sod.
V.R.I.[ToC]
January 22, 1901.
As, in a house where solemn-footed Death
Has trodden, all the little children stand
Before a silent door, with quickened breath,
Holding each other tightly by the hand—
So we, O Mother! at the keyless door
Stand gathered, heart-astir with nameless fears:
A strength has left the hour; the world before
Was warmer; and we face the day with tears.