Leaves of Grass, by Walt Whitman

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¹ FAR hence, amid an isle of wondrous beauty,

Crouching over a grave, an ancient sorrowful mother,

Once a queen—now lean and tatter'd, seated on the
ground,

Her old white hair drooping dishevel'd round her shoul-
ders;

At her feet fallen an unused royal harp,

Long silent—she too long silent—mourning her shroud-
ed hope and heir;

Of all the earth her heart most full of sorrow, because
most full of love.

² Yet a word, ancient mother;

You need crouch there no longer on the cold ground,
with forehead between your knees;

O you need not sit there, veil'd in your old white
hair, so dishevel'd;

For know you, the one you mourn is not in that grave;

It was an illusion—the heir, the son you love, was not
really dead;

The Lord is not dead—he is risen again, young and
strong, in another country;

Even while you wept there by your fallen harp, by the
grave,

What you wept for, was translated, pass'd from the
grave,

The winds favor'd, and the sea sail'd it,

And now with rosy and new blood,

Moves to-day in a new country.

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