Thou hast no power to stay the spirit’s wing;
Thou canst not bar its entrance to the skies;
Thou canst but set it free, thou ghastly King!
Thy touch doth man’s best part immortalize;
The deathless spirit lives, when the poor body dies.
II.
Once more approach with me the bed of death;
Come, see once more a fellow mortal die;
’Tis not a doleful sight. The dying breath
May pass through lips that smile in ecstasy,