Death & Dying
Dead in Sight of Fame
From The Complete Works of James Whitcomb Riley, Memorial Edition, Vol. I (1916)
Dead! Dead! Dead!
We thought him ours alone;
And were so proud to see him tread
The rounds of fame, and lift his head
Where sunlight ever shone;
But now our aching eyes are dim,
And look through tears in vain for him.
Name! Name! Name!
It was his diadem;
Nor ever tarnish-taint of shame
Could dim its luster--like a flame
Reflected in a gem,
He wears it blazing on his brow
Within the courts of Heaven now.
Tears! Tears! Tears!
Like dews upon the leaf
That bursts at last--from out the years
The blossom of a trust appears
That blooms above the grief;
And mother, brother, wife and child
Will see it and be reconciled.
Codex Note
DIED--Early morning of September 5, 1876, and in the gleaming dawn of "name and fame," Hamilton J. Dunbar.
Cite this poem
MLA
Riley, James Whitcomb. “Dead in Sight of Fame.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/riley/545/.
Chicago
Riley, James Whitcomb. “Dead in Sight of Fame.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/riley/545/.
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