William Cullen Bryant

William Cullen Bryant

Nov 3, 1794 - Jun 12, 1878

 

No Man Knoweth His Sepulchre

by William Cullen Bryant

When he, who, from the scourge of wrong,
Aroused the Hebrew tribes to fly,
Saw the fair region, promised long,
And bowed him on the hills to die;

God made his grave, to men unknown,
Where Moab's rocks a vale infold,
And laid the aged seer alone
To slumber while the world grows old.

Thus still, whene'er the good and just
Close the dim eye on life and pain,
Heaven watches o'er their sleeping dust
Till the pure spirit comes again.

Though nameless, trampled, and forgot,
His servant's humble ashes lie,
Yet God hath marked and sealed the spot,
To call its inmate to the sky.

Source:

Poems
Copyright 1876
New York: D. Appleton And Co.