Classic Poem

Look long on the last lilac ere it fade;
So soon it dies; and when it flowers again
Thy body in the still earth will be laid,
Asleep to memory, and numb to pain;
Deaf to earth's music; and for thee no more
The crocus-shower'd laburnum shall awake,
And to the dawn its dancing tresses shake —
Tresses more radiant than Apollo wore.
Next year these shall renew their youth, but thou
No more may'st look upon the bursting flow'rs
Nor daze thy senses with the breaths of Spring:
Silent thou'lt lie throughout the endless hours;
And all the pangs of earth's awakening
Shall not uncalm the stillness of thy brow.