With Three Flowers
July 6, 2023Thorwaldsen
July 6, 2023Threnody
I
Upon your hearse this flower I lay
Brief be your sleep! You shall be known
When lesser men have had their day:
Fame blossoms where true seed is sown,
Or soon or late, let Time wound what it may.
II
Unvext by any dream of fame,
You smiled, and bade the world pass by:
But I–I turned, and saw a name
Shaping itself against the sky–
White star that rose amid the battle’s flame!
III
Brief be your sleep, for I would see
Your laurels–ah, how trivial now
To him must earthly laurel be
Who wears the amaranth on his brow!
How vain the voices of mortality!
Thomas Bailey Aldrich
Thomas Bailey Aldrich (1836-1907) was an American poet, novelist, and editor, known for his nostalgic and romantic poems, including "The Ballad of Babie Bell" and "Memory."