In yonder old cathedral <br />Two lovely coffins lie; <br />In one, the head of the state lies dead, <br />And a singer sleeps hard by. <br /> <br />Once had that King great power <br />And proudly ruled the land-- <br />His crown e'en now is on his brow <br />And his sword is in his hand. <br /> <br />How sweetly sleeps the singer <br />With calmly folded eyes, <br />And on the breast of the bard at rest <br />The harp that he sounded lies. <br /> <br />The castle walls are falling <br />And war distracts the land, <br />But the sword leaps not from that mildewed spot <br />There in that dead king's hand. <br /> <br />But with every grace of nature <br />There seems to float along-- <br />To cheer again the hearts of men <br />The singer's deathless song.<br /><br />Eugene Field<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-two-coffins/
