| Arthur Quiller-Couch, ed. 1919. The Oxford Book of English Verse: 1250–1900. |
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| John Webster. ?–1630? |
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| 218. A Dirge |
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| CALL for the robin-redbreast and the wren, | |
| Since o'er shady groves they hover, | |
| And with leaves and flowers do cover | |
| The friendless bodies of unburied men. | |
| Call unto his funeral dole | 5 |
| The ant, the field-mouse, and the mole, | |
| To rear him hillocks that shall keep him warm, | |
| And (when gay tombs are robb'd) sustain no harm; | |
| But keep the wolf far thence, that 's foe to men, | |
| For with his nails he'll dig them up again. | 10 |
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GLOSS: dole] lamentation. |
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