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Home  »  The Oxford Book of English Verse  »  556. His Books

Arthur Quiller-Couch, ed. 1919. The Oxford Book of English Verse: 1250–1900.

Robert Southey. 1774–1843

556. His Books

MY days among the Dead are past; 
  Around me I behold, 
Where’er these casual eyes are cast, 
  The mighty minds of old: 
My never-failing friends are they,         5
With whom I converse day by day. 
 
With them I take delight in weal 
  And seek relief in woe; 
And while I understand and feel 
  How much to them I owe,  10
My cheeks have often been bedew’d 
With tears of thoughtful gratitude. 
 
My thoughts are with the Dead; with them 
  I live in long-past years, 
Their virtues love, their faults condemn,  15
  Partake their hopes and fears; 
And from their lessons seek and find 
Instruction with an humble mind. 
 
My hopes are with the Dead; anon 
  My place with them will be,  20
And I with them shall travel on 
  Through all Futurity; 
Yet leaving here a name, I trust, 
That will not perish in the dust.