Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882). Complete Poetical Works. 1893.
AppendixII. Unacknowledged and Uncollected Translations. Pray for Me
I
Brooding o’er his woes in vain,
Lay a young man, doomed by fate,
Wasted by disease and pain.
“People of the chaumière,”
Said he,“’t is the hour of prayer;
Ringing are the bells! all ye
Who are praying, pray for me!
Covered with dark boughs in spring,
You will say, He’s free from all,
All his pain and suffering.
Then returning to this shore
Sing your simple plaint once more,
And when ring the bells, all ye
Who are praying, pray for me.
Was the enemy of hate;
Of an honest life and pure
The end approaches, and I wait.
Short my pilgrimage appears;
In the springtime of my years
I am dying; and all ye
Who are praying, pray for me.
Worthy of all love and praise,
Thine my life was to the end;
Ah, ’t was but a life of days.
People of the chaumière,
Pity, at the hour of prayer,
Her who comes with bended knee,
Saying also, Pray for me!”