Lord Byron — A Fragment When to their airy hall

A Fragment [1]         When, to their airy hall, my Fathers' voice         Shall call my spirit, joyful in their choice;         When, pois'd upon the gale, my form shall ride,         Or, dark in mist, descend the mountain's side;         Oh! may my shade behold no sculptur'd urns,         To mark the spot where earth to earth returns!         No lengthen'd scroll, no praise-encumber'd stone; [i]         My epitaph shall be my name alone: [2]         If that with honour fail to crown my clay, [ii]         Oh! may no other fame my deeds repay!         That, only that, shall single out the spot;         By that remember'd, or with that forgot. [iii]         1803. [Footnote 1: There is no heading in the Quarto.] [Footnote 2: In his will, drawn up in 1811, Byron gave directions that "no inscription, save his name and age, should be written on his tomb." June, 1819, he wrote to Murray: "Some of the epitaphs at the Certosa cemetery, at Ferrara, pleased me more than the more splendid monuments at Bologna; for instance, 'Martini Luigi Implora pace.' Can anything be more full of pathos? I hope whoever may survive me will see those two words, and no more, put over me."—'Life', pp. 131, 398.] [Footnote: i. 'No lengthen'd scroll of virtue and renown.' [4to. P. on V. Occ.]] [Footnote: ii. 'If that with honour fails,' [4to]] [Footnote: iii. 'But that remember'd, or fore'er forgot'. [4to. 'P. on V. Occasions'.]]