It Was a Grave, Yet Bore No Stone
poem 876
It Was a Grave, Yet Bore No Stone - meaning Summary
Unmarked Burial, Private Sorrow
The poem contemplates an unmarked grave that nevertheless contains a human soul. The speaker observes that the resting place is unenclosed and uninscribed, prompting questions about who buried the person and why they were denied ordinary memorials. Curiosity about identity and motive remains unresolved; the speaker accepts ignorance until resurrection. The final lines register a small, human wish to tend the grave—a rose or removal of a briar—suggesting compassion, mourning, and the need for simple rites of remembrance even when social recognition is absent.
Read Complete AnalysesIt was a Grave, yet bore no Stone Enclosed ’twas not of Rail A Consciousness its Acre, and It held a Human Soul. Entombed by whom, for what offence If Home or Foreign born Had I the curiosity ‘Twere not appeased of men Till Resurrection, I must guess Denied the small desire A Rose upon its Ridge to sow Or take away a Briar.
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