Classic Poem

Calmly, calmly lay him down;
He hath fought a noble fight,
He hath battled for the right,
He hath won the fadeless crown.

Memories, all too bright for tears,
Crowd around us from the past:
He was faithful to the last,
Faithful through long, toilsome years.

All that makes for human good,
Freedom, righteousness and truth, —
These, the objects of his youth,
Unto age he still pursued.

Kind and gentle was his soul,
Yet it had a glorious might:
Clouded minds it filled with light,
Wounded spirits it made whole.

Calmly, calmly lay him down:
He hath fought the noble fight,
He hath battled for the right,
He hath won the fadeless crown.