Arthur Quiller-Couch, comp. The Oxford Book of Victorian Verse. 1922.
Pagan EpitaphRichard Middleton (18821911)
S
I lie here, here let me lie,
In the ashes and the dust,
Dreaming, dreaming pleasantly.
When I lived I sought no wings,
Schemed no heaven, plann’d no hell,
But, content with little things,
Made an earth, and it was well.
Roses, roses red and white,
And a star or two to shine
On my dewy world at night.
Lord, what more could I desire?
With my little heart of clay
I have lit no eternal fire
To burn my dreams on Judgement Day!
What my laughing heart could be,
What my singing lips could do,
Lie a-dreaming here with me.
I can feel their finger-tips
Stroke the darkness from my face,
And the music of their lips
Fills my pleasant resting-place
In the ashes and the dust,
Where I wonder as I lie,
Servant of the eternal Must,
Dreaming, dreaming pleasantly.