Death & Dying

Pagan Epitaph

by Richard Middleton 1882–1911

From The Oxford Book of Victorian Verse (1912)

Death & Dying

Servant of the eternal Must
I lie here, here let me lie,
In the ashes and the dust,
Dreaming, dreaming pleasantly.
When I lived I sought no wings,
Schemed no heaven, plann'd no hell,
But, content with little things,
Made an earth, and it was well.

Song and laughter, food and wine,
Roses, roses red and white,
And a star or two to shine
On my dewy world at night.
Lord, what more could I desire?

With my little heart of clay
I have lit no eternal fire
To burn my dreams on Judgement Day!

Well I loved, but they who knew
What my laughing heart could be,
What my singing lips could do,
Lie a-dreaming here with me.
I can feel their finger-tips
Stroke the darkness from my face,
And the music of their lips
Fills my pleasant resting-place
In the ashes and the dust,
Where I wonder as I lie,
Servant of the eternal Must,
Dreaming, dreaming pleasantly.

MLA

Middleton, Richard. “Pagan Epitaph.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/middleton_r/0/.

Chicago

Middleton, Richard. “Pagan Epitaph.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/middleton_r/0/.

Read this poem with the Codex →

More by Richard Middleton