BARDS of Passion and of Mirth
Ye have left your souls on earth！
Have ye souls in heaven too
Doubled-lived in regions new？
Yes and those of heaven commune
With the spheres of sun and moon；
With the noise of fountains wondrous
And the parle of voices thund'rous；
With the whisper of heaven's trees
And one another in soft ease
Seated on Elysian lawns
Browsed by none but Dian's fawns；
Underneath large blue-bells tented
Where the daisies are rose-scented
And the rose herself has got
Perfume which on earth is not；
Where the nightingale doth sing
Not a senseless trancèd thing
But divine melodious truth；
Philosophic numbers smooth；
Tales and golden histories
Of heaven and its mysteries.
Thus ye live on high and then
On the earth ye live again；
And the souls ye left behind you
Teach us here the way to find you
Where your other souls are joying
Never slumber'd never cloying.
Here your earth-born souls still speak
To mortals of their little week；
Of their sorrows and delights；
Of their passions and their spites；
Of their glory and their shame；
What doth strengthen and what maim.
Thus ye teach us every day
Wisdom though fled far away.
Bards of Passion and of Mirth
Ye have left your souls on earth！
Ye have souls in heaven too
Double-lived in regions new！