When I Have Died
When I have died and left behind forever
The dragging heaviness of age, sore felt
Through years that stole the young, the gay, the clever;
When the tired soul is glad at least to sever
The feeble sheath wherein my spirit dwelt,
In freeing flame the husk of me shall melt;
And those few ashes no dark urn shall ever
Shut from the blaze-blue sky. One last request:
Scatter me in the land I leave behind,
The prairies my exploring feet once roved;
One with those strong raw-colored plains I’ll rest,
Once more run lightly in the Texas wind,
And be forever part of all I loved.