Poem for a Funeral

If I should die and leave you here a while.

Be not like others, soon undone, who keep

Long vigil by the silent dust and weep.

 

For my sake turn again to life and smile,

Nerving thy heart and trembling hand to do

Something to comfort weaker hearts than thine.

Complete these dear unfinished tasks of mine,

And I, perchance, may therein comfort you.

Unknown author

(if you know, please email me the name of the poet)

AND VOILA!

Thanks to “Professor” David B Evans!

FIRST

The author of the poem you posted that begins “If I should die and leave you…” is the 18th century English poet Thomas Gray.

THEN

Hold the presses… my source now says she’s not sure. Is still looking. Sounds like Gray (Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard), but nothing definitive yet. Apologize for the false alarm. stay tuned. cheers..

THEN  AGAIN

Think we got it…poet is Mary Lee Hall  (1847-1918)   Here is some info about her:

Mary Hall (August 16, 1843 – November 15, 1927) was the first female lawyer in Connecticut, and also a poet, a suffragist, and a philanthropist. In 1882, the Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors‘ decision to allow Hall to be admitted to the Connecticut Bar was the first judicial decision in the nation to hold that women were permitted to practice law.[1]”

 Mr. Evans  also found two references of interest.  Gov. Chris Christie read the poem at a gathering following “9/11.” AND                                                                                                                                                                                                                         At the funeral of Princess Diana her elder sister read a poem by Mary Lee Hall (1847-1918) which urges the bereaved to Turn Again to Life.

 

 

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