The Last Signal By Thomas Hardy

(Oct. 11, 1886) A Memory Of William Barnes Silently I Footed By An Uphill Road That Led From My Abode To A Spot Yew-Boughed; Yellowly The Sun Sloped Low Down To Westward, And Dark Was The East With Cloud. Then, Amid The Shadow Of That Livid Sad East, Where The Light Was Least, And A Gate Stood Wide, Something Flashed The Fire Of The Sun That Was Facing It, Like A Brief Blaze On That Side. Looking Hard And Harder I Knew What It Meant - The Sudden Shine Sent From The Livid East Scene; It Meant The West Mirrored By The Coffin Of My Friend There, Turning To The Road From His Green, To Take His Last Journey Forth - He Who In His Prime Trudged So Many A Time From That Gate Athwart The Land! Thus A Farewell To Me He Signalled On His Grave-Way, As With A Wave Of His Hand. Winterborne-Came Path.