Poems (Rice)/An Incident
AN INCIDENT.
AT St. Paul's, to-day, I stood by the door, To witness a cortege, a funeral train; A flower I tried to snatch from the floor, From the casket it fell, a moment had lain; Trembling I stood; another passed by, Picked up the flower, with tears and a sigh.
A poet had died, and gone to his rest; Sweet were the emblems affection bestowed; Do such really bloom in the land of the blest, Such flowers as these, with dew overspread? Beautiful tokens, the poet to crown, Lily-gemmed chaplets for well-earned renown.