poetry texts, poem archive at plagiarist.com

Read more poems by Edgar Lee Masters: Edgar Lee Masters Poems at Poetry X.

They have chiseled on my stone the words:
'His life was gentle, and the elements so mixed in him
That nature might stand up and say to all the world,
This was a man.'
Those who knew me smile
As they read this empty rhetoric.
My epitaph should have been:
'Life was not gentle to him,
And the elements so mixed in him
That he made warfare on life,
In the which he was slain.'
While I lived I could not cope with slanderous tongues,
Now that I am dead I must submit to an epitaph
Graven by a fool!

Added: 9 Mar 2003 | Last Read: 24 Sep 2026 6:58 AM | Viewed: 6673 times

A PoetryNotes™ Analysis of Cassius Hueffer by Edgar Lee Masters, is Available!

A PoetryNotes™ eBook is available for this poem for delivery within 24 hours, and usually available within minutes during normal business hours.

ON SALE - only $29.95 19.95!

For more information...