Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
England: Vols. I–IV. 1876–79.

Cockermouth

In Sight of the Town of Cockermouth

By William Wordsworth (1770–1850)

Where the Author Was Born, and His Father’s Remains Are Laid

A POINT of life between my parents’ dust

And yours, my buried little ones! am I;

And to those graves looking habitually,

In kindred quiet I repose my trust.

Death to the innocent is more than just,

And, to the sinner, mercifully bent;

So may I hope, if truly I repent

And meekly bear the ills which bear I must:

And you, my offspring! that do still remain,

Yet may outstrip me in the appointed race,

If e’er, through fault of mine, in mutual pain

We breathed together for a moment’s space,

The wrong, by love provoked, let love arraign,

And only love keep in your hearts a place.