| Andrew Macphail, comp. The Book of Sorrow. 1916. | | | V. The Sting of Death
‘Timor Mortis conturbat me’ | | By Sir Noël Paton (1821–1901) |
| | | COULD I have sung one Song that should survive | |
| The singer’s voice, and in my country’s heart | |
| Find loving echo—evermore a part | |
| Of all her sweetest memories; could I give | |
| One great Thought to the People, that should prove | 5 |
| The spring of noble action in their hour | |
| Of darkness, or control their headlong power | |
| With the firm reins of Justice and of Love; | |
| Could I have traced one Form that should express | |
| The sacred mystery that underlies | 10 |
| All Beauty, and through man’s enraptured eyes | |
| Teach him how beautiful is Holiness,— | |
| I had not feared thee. But to yield my breath, | |
| Life’s Purpose unfulfilled!—This is thy sting, O Death! | | | | |
|
|
