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Poem
November 3, 1810
Alexandria Daily Gazette, Commercial & Political
Alexandria, Virginia
What is this article about?
A wanderer, bowed by misfortune, returns to his ancestral home only to find it claimed by a heartless stranger. Dispossessed, he turns to his father's tomb as his sole refuge and inheritance, shedding tears for his lost lineage.
Clipping
OCR Quality
98%
Excellent
Full Text
THE TOMB OF MY FATHER.
Subdued by misfortunes and bowed down
with pain,
I sought on the bosom of peace to recline ;
I hied to the home of my fathers again,
But the home of my fathers no longer was
mine.
The look that spoke gladness and welcome,
was gone,
The blaze that shone bright in the hall was
no more ;
A stranger was there with a bosom of stone,
And cold was his eyes as I entered the
door.
Twas his, deaf to pity, to tenderness dead,
The falling to crush, and the humble to
spurn;
But I staid not his scorn, from his mansion
I fled,
And my beating heart vowed never more
to return.
What home shall receive me! One home
yet I know,
O'er its gloomy recess, see the pine
branches wave ;
'Tis the tomb of my fathers ! The world is
my foe !
And all my inheritance now is--a grave.
'Tis the tomb of my fathers ; the gay moss-
ened walls,
Declining on earth, speak aloud to decay :
The gate off its hinge, and half opening calls,
"Approach most unhappy, thy dwelling of
clay !"
Alas, thou soft dwelling of all I hold dear.
How little this meeting once augured my
breast ;
From a wanderer accept, oh my father, this
tear,
Receive him, the last of his race, to your
rest.
Subdued by misfortunes and bowed down
with pain,
I sought on the bosom of peace to recline ;
I hied to the home of my fathers again,
But the home of my fathers no longer was
mine.
The look that spoke gladness and welcome,
was gone,
The blaze that shone bright in the hall was
no more ;
A stranger was there with a bosom of stone,
And cold was his eyes as I entered the
door.
Twas his, deaf to pity, to tenderness dead,
The falling to crush, and the humble to
spurn;
But I staid not his scorn, from his mansion
I fled,
And my beating heart vowed never more
to return.
What home shall receive me! One home
yet I know,
O'er its gloomy recess, see the pine
branches wave ;
'Tis the tomb of my fathers ! The world is
my foe !
And all my inheritance now is--a grave.
'Tis the tomb of my fathers ; the gay moss-
ened walls,
Declining on earth, speak aloud to decay :
The gate off its hinge, and half opening calls,
"Approach most unhappy, thy dwelling of
clay !"
Alas, thou soft dwelling of all I hold dear.
How little this meeting once augured my
breast ;
From a wanderer accept, oh my father, this
tear,
Receive him, the last of his race, to your
rest.
What sub-type of article is it?
Elegy
Ballad
What themes does it cover?
Death Mourning
What keywords are associated?
Tomb Father
Ancestral Home
Loss Inheritance
Wanderer Grief
Family Rest
Poem Details
Title
The Tomb Of My Father.
Key Lines
But The Home Of My Fathers No Longer Was Mine.
And All My Inheritance Now Is A Grave.
Receive Him, The Last Of His Race, To Your Rest.