From An Exequy

-PETER PORTER-
The rooms and days we wandered through
Shrink in my mind to one - there you
Lie quite absorbed by peace - the calm
Which life could not provide is balm
In Death. Unseen by me, you look
Past bed and stairs and half-read book
Eternally upon your home,
The end of pain, the left alone.
I have no friend, or intercessor,
No psychopomp or true confessor
But only you who know my heart
In every cramped and devious part -
Then take my hand and lead me out,
The sky is overcast with doubt,
The time has come, I listen for
Your words of comfort at the door,
O guide me through the shoals of fear -
"Furchte dich, ich bin bei dir."