R.M.S. Titanic Poem by Maria Frances Cecilia Cowper

Sunk 15th April, 1912
Requiescat in Pace

How shall we honour the unburied dead ?
Shall we go forth with loud acclaim, and rake
The sea for bodies ? Shall we, ruthless, wake
Each weary sleeper from his ocean bed ?
Shall the sad mourners thus be comforted ?
Can pomp of burial gladden hearts that break,
Or pitiful bride-widow solace take
From ruined sight of the beloved head ?
Nay, rather let us sing their deeds, not weep
These men that did their duty, shunned the door
Of safety, saving others from the deep.
Now in the hearts of men, from shore to shore,
Their memory lives : the sea that gave them sleep
Shall be their resting-place for evermore.