WHEN I AM DEAD.
Will friends remember that I lived,
Give me a passing thought,
Give tribute to what I have done,
To what I may have wrought.
Or will they pass with heedless laugh,
Not feeling one regret
That I have gone beyond their ken;
And will they soon forget
That I loved them, that they loved me,
That friendship in the past
Was part, and parcel of our lives;
We hoped ’twould ever last.
But when I’m dead, I hope few tears
Will then be shed for me.
If others then shall take my place,
I shall not grieve to see
My loved ones happy without me.
Why should they grieve for aye?
Their duties they must ever do,
The laws of life obey.
Forget me then when I am dead;
I fain would have it so.
If world is better for my life,
Bequeath I would not woe
To those I leave behind on earth;
They need not shed one tear,
Nor be unhappy for one hour;
Nor need they have one fear
Of what befalls me when I die.
I’ll go where I belong.
I shall not crowd nor push aside
The ever swelling throng.—
My place I’ve made while here on earth,
And I shall go therein
Without a fear, without a thought
Of any earthly sin.
I’ve lived, I’ve loved, I’ve done the work
That was laid out for me.
I still shall live, I still shall love
Throughout eternity.
Be patient with the living ones,
The dead need not your care.
The living ones need comforting
For much they have to bear.