Classic Poem

Say no word to me of his bad ways;
I knew them well enough—his faults—his flaws:
Because he guarded me thro' desperate days
I do not care how much a liar he was!

He will be seen no more of you or me:
He was an evil man the good folk say:
I light this incense to his memory:
Because of him I go alive to-day.

I know not what it means, this being dead:
Awake, asleep, somewhere beyond the rim:
But to myself these many hours I've said,
Murmuring as in some temple, quiet, dim:

Good Will of all the World, be good to him!
Good Will of all the World recover him!
Out of the dark be tender to his need,
Whatever it may be, since he is dead!
Good Will of all the World, be good to him!