Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). A Victorian Anthology, 1837–1895. 1895.

Sebastian Evans b. 1830

A Dirge for Summer

SUMMER dieth:—o’er his bier

Chant a requiem low and clear!

Chant it for his dying flowers,

Chant it for his flying hours.

Let them wither all together

Now the world is past the prime

Of the golden olden-time.

Let them die, dying Summer

Yield his kingdom to the comer

From the islands of the West:

He is weary, let him rest!

And let mellow Autumn’s yellow

Fall upon the leafy prime

Of the golden olden-time.

Go, ye days, your deeds are done!

Be yon clouds about the sun

Your imperial winding-sheet;

Let the night winds as they fleet

Tell the story of the glory

Of the free great-hearted prime

Of the golden olden-time.