"The Grave of Uncle True" (1854)
Poetry by
Jefferson Henri Nones, U.S.A.
Respectfully Inscribed
To the Readers of The Lamplighter
by
H. S. Colman

New York, NY: S. T. Gordon, 538 Broadway
[Source: 126/030@Levy]

1. Beside the worn and moss grown rock,
The ivy vine doth cling;
And the blue bird from the shadowy oak;
Folds up his trembling wing,
And there until the vesper hour,
His song comes sweet and low,
A requiem to the faithful heart
That slumbereth below.

CHORUS [sung after each VERSE]
Poor Uncle True
Poor Uncle True
And the lamps of Hea’n shine brightly down,
On the grave of Uncle True.

2. His pilgrimage on earth is done,
His toil of life is o’er,
And summer’s gale or winter’s wail,
Shall meet his ear no more.
Death’s shadow hides his sleeping form;
And veils him from our view,
But the spirit of the past still dwells
’Round the grave of Uncle True.

3. The chaplet wreath’d by Gerty’s hands,
Of roses white and red,
Unheeded in their freshness lie
Above his lowly head,
And the evening cricket’s chirp is heard
When falls the pearly dew,
And the lamps of heav’n shine brightly down,
On the grave of Uncle True.