The Dirge

" Bring from the chamber to the grave !"
Thus did the dead man say :
" A sound of melody I crave,
Upon my burial-day.

" Bring forth some tuneful instrument,
And let your voices rise :
My spirit listened, as it went,
To music of the skies.

" Sing sweetly while you travel on,
And keep the funeral slow : —
The angels sing where I am gone,
And you should sing below.

" Sing from the threshold to the porch,
Until you hear the bell ;
And sing you loudly in the church,
The Psalms I love so well.

" Then bear me gently to my grave,
And as you pass along,
Remember, 'twas my wish to have
A pleasant funeral song.

" So earth to earth, and dust to dust !
And though my flesh decay,
My soul shall sing among the just
Until the Judgment-day."