Margaritae Sorori Poem by William Ernest Henley

Margaritae Sorori

Rating: 3.1


A LATE lark twitters from the quiet skies:
And from the west,
Where the sun, his day's work ended,
Lingers as in content,
There falls on the old, gray city
An influence luminous and serene,
A shining peace.

The smoke ascends
In a rosy-and-golden haze. The spires
Shine and are changed. In the valley
Shadows rise. The lark sings on. The sun,
Closing his benediction,
Sinks, and the darkening air
Thrills with a sense of the triumphing night--
Night with her train of stars
And her great gift of sleep.

So be my passing!
My task accomplish'd and the long day done,
My wages taken, and in my heart
Some late lark singing,
Let me be gather'd to the quiet west,
The sundown splendid and serene,
Death.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Paddy Harris 02 April 2009

I live near his grave (where he, his child, and his wife are all buried) and visited it for the first time yesterday. Initially I only thought his daughter Margaret Emma was there and was searching with my friend amongst all the old worn headstones, as the sun had set it was pretty difficult considering all the moss and such. Anyway, after much searching, I looked up and was surprised to see the word 'Henley' on a large white memorial. It was a beautiful grave looking west (towards what the last red embers in the sky) , and had the final stanza of this poem engraved upon it.

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William Ernest Henley

William Ernest Henley

Gloucester / England
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