Death & Dying

Here lie the remains of Fred Emerson Brooks

by Ambrose Bierce 1842–c. 1914

From Black Beetles in Amber (1892)

Death & Dying

Here lie the remains of Fred Emerson Brooks,
A poet, as every one knew by his looks
Who hadn't unluckily met with his books.

On civic occasions he sprang to the fore
With poems consisting of stanzas three score.
The men whom they deafened enjoyed them the more.

Of reason his fantasy knew not the check:
All forms of inharmony came at his beck.
The weight of his ignorance fractured his neck.

In this peaceful spot, so the grave-diggers say,
With pen, ink and paper they laid him away--
The Poet-elect of the Judgment Day.

MLA

Bierce, Ambrose. “Here lie the remains of Fred Emerson Brooks.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/bierce/433/.

Chicago

Bierce, Ambrose. “Here lie the remains of Fred Emerson Brooks.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/bierce/433/.

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