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Poem
July 3, 1848
The Daily Crescent
New Orleans, Orleans County, Louisiana
What is this article about?
A mournful poem depicting a slow funeral procession to a village churchyard, burying a deceased person amid reflections on mortality and inevitable death, concluding with a hopeful divine assurance of the soul's eternal ascent to beauty and love.
Clipping
OCR Quality
98%
Excellent
Full Text
THE BURIAL
Mournfully, slowly, the funeral train
To the village churchyard wended,
For Death had bound with his icy chain
A human heart—and all earthly pain
With its last faint beating ended.
Mournfully, slowly, they wound their way
By the marbles, moss enshrouded,
And the fresher mound, where sleeping lay
The maiden that passed but yesterday,
Like a star in darkness shrouded.
Mournfully, slowly, the cypress old
Waved its arms, the chill wind breasting,
As they lowered their burden, pale and cold,
And covered it deep with the churchyard mould,
And prayed for the spirit's resting.
Mournfully, slowly, the funeral train
Left the buried ashes sleeping,
Till Death in the village should breathe again,
And another flickering taper wane
Midst the sound of wail and weeping.
Mournfully, slowly, I moved along,
And my faithless heart grew colder
As I thought that all of life's mighty throng
Must melt away, like a half breathed song,
And in Earth's dark bosom moulder.
Hopefully, helpingly, beamed a ray
On my heart, from the Throne Eternal—
"The Earth but receives its earthly clay,
While the soul from its prison soars away
To beauty and love supernal."
—National Era.
Mournfully, slowly, the funeral train
To the village churchyard wended,
For Death had bound with his icy chain
A human heart—and all earthly pain
With its last faint beating ended.
Mournfully, slowly, they wound their way
By the marbles, moss enshrouded,
And the fresher mound, where sleeping lay
The maiden that passed but yesterday,
Like a star in darkness shrouded.
Mournfully, slowly, the cypress old
Waved its arms, the chill wind breasting,
As they lowered their burden, pale and cold,
And covered it deep with the churchyard mould,
And prayed for the spirit's resting.
Mournfully, slowly, the funeral train
Left the buried ashes sleeping,
Till Death in the village should breathe again,
And another flickering taper wane
Midst the sound of wail and weeping.
Mournfully, slowly, I moved along,
And my faithless heart grew colder
As I thought that all of life's mighty throng
Must melt away, like a half breathed song,
And in Earth's dark bosom moulder.
Hopefully, helpingly, beamed a ray
On my heart, from the Throne Eternal—
"The Earth but receives its earthly clay,
While the soul from its prison soars away
To beauty and love supernal."
—National Era.
What sub-type of article is it?
Elegy
What themes does it cover?
Death Mourning
Religious Faith
What keywords are associated?
Burial
Funeral
Death
Mourning
Soul
Eternal
Churchyard
Poem Details
Title
The Burial
Subject
Funeral Burial
Key Lines
Mournfully, Slowly, The Funeral Train
To The Village Churchyard Wended,
Hopefully, Helpingly, Beamed A Ray
On My Heart, From The Throne Eternal—
"The Earth But Receives Its Earthly Clay,
While The Soul From Its Prison Soars Away
To Beauty And Love Supernal."