| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900. |
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| 130. Votive Song |
| | | By Edward Coate Pinkney |
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| I BURN no incense, hang no wreath, | |
| On this thine early tomb: | |
| Such cannot cheer the place of death, | |
| But only mock its gloom. | |
| Here odorous smoke and breathing flower | 5 |
| No grateful influence shed; | |
| They lose their perfume and their power, | |
| When offered to the dead. | |
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| And if, as is the Afghaun’s creed, | |
| The spirit may return, | 10 |
| A disembodied sense to feed, | |
| On fragrance, near its urn,— | |
| It is enough that she, whom thou | |
| Didst love in living years, | |
| Sits desolate beside it now, | 15 |
| And fall these heavy tears. | |
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