Walter de la Mare. Two Epitaphs. Harriet Monroe, ed. Poetry: A Magazine of Verse. 1912-22

Harriet Monroe, ed. (1860–1936). Poetry: A Magazine of Verse. 1912–22.

Two Epitaphs

By Walter de la Mare


I YE say we sleep;
But nay, we wake;
Life was that strange and chequered dream
Only for waking’s sake.

II O passer-by, beware!	5
Is the day fair?—
Yet unto evening shall the day spin on
And soon thy sun be gone;
Then darkness come,
And this, a narrow home.	10
Not that I bid thee fear;
Only, when thou at last lie here,
Bethink thee, there shall only be
Thyself for company.