The Dying of Pere Pierre

By John McCrae

1872-1918


". . . with two other priests; the same night he died,
and was buried by the shores of the lake that bears his name."
         Chronicle.

"Nay, grieve not that ye can no honour give
         To these poor bones that presently must be
But carrion; since I have sought to live
         Upon God's earth, as He hath guided me,
I shall not lack! Where would ye have me lie?
         High heaven is higher than cathedral nave:
Do men paint chancels fairer than the sky?"
         Beside the darkened lake they made his grave,
Below the altar of the hills; and night
         Swung incense clouds of mist in creeping lines
That twisted through the tree-trunks, where the light
         Groped through the arches of the silent pines:
And he, beside the lonely path he trod,
Lay, tombed in splendour, in the House of God.

DayPoems Poem No. 1112
<a href="http://www.daypoems.net/poems/1112.html">The Dying of Pere Pierre by John McCrae</a>

The DayPoems Poetry Collection, www.daypoems.net
Timothy Bovee, editor

Poets  Poems