[Editor: This poem by William Blocksidge (also known as William Baylebridge) was published in Songs o’ the South (1908).]
XXIV.
Dirge
Lovely Lilian has fled —
Gone the Flower of Maidenhead:
Gentle Lilian is dead!
Softly, softly tread thou here;
Lilian the calm did love.
Gently, gently on her bier
Lay the flowers above —
God! — above sweet Lilian,
Silent, silent Lilian!
Rigid is that form so fair,
Fashioning the shroud so white;
All the strength that lingered there
Chilled in cold, cold night —
God! — the night of Lilian,
Gentle, gentle Lilian!
Clasped her hands upon her breast,
On her breast so still and cold;
Drawn her features, sweetly dressed
In a frame of gold —
God! — the hair of Lilian,
Lovely, lovely Lilian!
Spotless is her winding-shroud —
Spotless, yea, the robes of Death —
Traitor dark who lately vowed
To steal away her breath —
God! — the breath of Lilian,
Gentle, gentle Lilian!
Lovely Lilian has fled —
Gone the Flower of Maidenhead:
Gentle Lilian is dead!
Source:
William Blocksidge, Songs o’ the South, London: Watts, 1908, pp. 36-37
Editor’s notes:
bier = a stand upon which a coffin is placed prior to burial
shroud = a layer of material which covers, surrounds, or enwraps something; in the context of death, a burial shroud (a cloth or garment used for wrapping a corpse)
thou = (archaic) you
winding-shroud = a cloth covering for a dead body, which is wrapped or wound around the body prior to burial
yea = yes; indeed; truly; an affirmation (especially an affirmative vote), an indication of assent
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