O cover the gable in thistle
For Shelby I O cover the gable in thistleLet this place become unknown to allTo us only may this place be holy;Let the moss wrap it up like a shawl. Let the darkness prevent eyes from seeingAnd hearts from remembering whenAnd the sun hide her grand face, agreeingThat no-one shall find it again. Let the vines and the beetles crawl slowlyDevouring all semblance of worth;O cover the gable in thistleAnd draw it all back to the earth. II Once this was a temple unfettered.My heart and hers wandered free,Free from Time’s shadow and terror;Nothing would tear her from me. My spirit was hers for the sculpting,She crafted my soul by her hand;Prancing and gasping and gulpingWe devoured the joy of this land. Never a footstep in errorAnd every omen a boon--Once this was a temple unfettered;A monument now to my ruin. III This is the place where I carried herAnd swore to protect her from harm;Here her warm breath was my staple,Here her bright eye was my charm. Though the fortunes of fate might assail herI am her aegis and shieldUnswerving, my love cannot fail her‘Til the last of my strength shall I yield See, on the hill, the black mapleAnd the wink of the rope’s one good eyeThis is the place where I buried herAnd yonder the hill where I die.