Harmonies (Howe collection)/The Unseen Panoply
THE UNSEEN PANOPLY
He is dead—the towering chief,
And the world must say farewell
With the grandeur of public grief,
With pageant and chant and knell,
With the heavy fragrance of flowers,
And the lingering march of those
Who would hold the headlong hours
When eternity presses close.
And the world must say farewell
With the grandeur of public grief,
With pageant and chant and knell,
With the heavy fragrance of flowers,
And the lingering march of those
Who would hold the headlong hours
When eternity presses close.
Thus for the soul far sped
Let his ashes honored be,
For the master of men is dead,
And but once come such as he.
Let his ashes honored be,
For the master of men is dead,
And but once come such as he.
As he sank, an infant's breath
Flickered and paused and ceased;
To serve at the rites of death
Came father, mother, and priest.
Where were the stately show,
Dirge and garlands and pall?
Where was the pomp of woe?—
Two hearts enwrapped it all.
Flickered and paused and ceased;
To serve at the rites of death
Came father, mother, and priest.
Where were the stately show,
Dirge and garlands and pall?
Where was the pomp of woe?—
Two hearts enwrapped it all.
No echoing word was said,
There was naught for the world to see;
But the first-born child lay dead,
And but once come such as he.
There was naught for the world to see;
But the first-born child lay dead,
And but once come such as he.