Classic Poem

In the sweet earth, where sun and rain
Wake silent life from slumber deep,
Until thy spring-time come again,
Friend of the wild flowers, sleep.

There where thou liest, earth to earth,
And they with God their secret keep,
All living beauty had its birth;
Friend of the wild flowers, sleep.

Long in its root abides the rose,
Spring flowers from winter's bosom creep;
He gave thee longer life than those —
Longer than theirs, thy sleep.

And human wild flowers, to the view,
Weeds tangled in the grain we reap,
On these thy pity fell like dew;
Friend of the orphans, sleep.

If vision , in that deep repose
Which life in Lethe seems to steep,
Be thine, I know not — He who knows
Gives his beloved sleep.

But errs not faith, nor hope beguile,
Thy angel hears when orphans weep,
And sees remembered faces smile;
Friend of the wild flowers, sleep.