John Keats



On death

I.
Can death be sleep, when life is but a dream, 
And scenes of bliss pass as a phantom by? 
The transient pleasures as a vision seem, 
And yet we think the greatest pain's to die. 

II
How strange it is that man on earth should roam,  
And lead a life of woe, but not forsake 
His rugged path; nor dare he view alone 
His future doom which is but to awake.