by Alphonse de Lamartinetranslated by J. P. M.

“ What sobs, what prayers of mourners do I hear?
What mean those tapers pale, that chanted knell?
Dost thou, O Death, thus whisper in mine ear
For the last time? On the grave's brink I break
My earthly slumbers; and to life awake!
2.
Soul, spark most precious of a flame divine,
Immortal dweller in a frame that dies,
Hush these alarms: for freedom shall be thine. ”