It is not the tear at this moment shed, <br />When the cold turf has just been laid o'er him, <br />That can tell how beloved was the friend that's fled, <br />Or how deep in our hearts we deplore him. <br />'Tis the tear, through many a long day wept, <br />'Tis life's whole path o'ershaded; <br />'Tis the one remembrance, fondly kept, <br />When all lighter griefs have faded. <br /> <br />Thus his memory, like some holy light, <br />Kept alive in our hearts, will improve them, <br />For worth shall look fairer, and truth more bright, <br />When we think how he lived but to love them. <br />And as fresher flowers the sod perfume <br />Where buried saints are lying, <br />So our hearts shall borrow a sweetening bloom <br />From the image he left there in dying!<br /><br />Thomas Moore<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/it-is-not-the-tear-at-this-moment-shed-2/
