“O, breathe not his name”

by Thomas Moore (1779–1852) English

Robert Emmet
O, BREATHE not his name! let it sleep in the shade,
Where cold and unhonored his relics are laid;
Sad, silent, and dark be the tears that we shed,
As the night-dew that falls on the grave o’er his head.

But the night-dew that falls, though in silence it weeps,
Shall brighten with verdure the grave where he sleeps;
And the tear that we shed, though in secret it rolls,
Shall long keep his memory green in our souls.

Source: Bartleby.com (archived copy)

More poems by Thomas Moore

The Vale of Avoca

There is not in this wide world a valley so sweet
As that vale in whose bosom the bright waters meet;
O, the last ray of feeling and life must depart …
The Vale of Cashmere

From “The Light of the Harem”
WHO has not heard of the Vale of Cashmere,
With its roses the brightest that earth ever gave, …
“The harp that once through Tara’s Halls”

The Harp that once through Tara’s halls
The soul of music shed,
Now hangs as mute on Tara’s walls …
At the Mid Hour of Night

At the mid hour of night, when stars are weeping, I fly
To the lone vale we loved, when life shone warm in thine eye;
And I think oft, if spirits can steal from the regions of air, …

All poems by Thomas Moore → · More English poems →

“O, breathe not his name”

More poems by Thomas Moore

The Vale of Avoca

The Vale of Cashmere

“The harp that once through Tara’s Halls”

At the Mid Hour of Night