Mine and Thine (1904)/The Burial of Robert Louis Stevenson at Samoa

by Florence Earle Coates

For other versions of this work, see The Burial of Robert Louis Stevenson at Samoa.

THE BURIAL OF ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON AT SAMOA

Where shall we lay you down to rest?
Where will you sleep the very best?
Mirthful and tender, dear and true—
Where shall we find a grave for you?

They thought of a spirit as brave as light,
And they bore him up to a lonely height,
And they laid him there, where he loved to be,
On a mountain gazing o'er the sea!

They thought of a soul aflood with song,
And they buried him where the summer long
Myriad birds his requiem sing,
And the echoing woods about him ring!

They thought of a love that life redeems,
Of a heart the home of perfect dreams,
And they left him there, where the worlds aspire
In the sunrise glow and the sunset fire!