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The Grave-Digger | The Poetry Foundation

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Once, as I was burying one of my dead selves, the grave-digger came by and said to me, “Of all those who come here to bury, you alone I like.” Said I, “You please me exceedingly, but why do you like me?” “Because,” said he, “They come weeping and go weeping—you only come laughing and go laughing.” Advertise with Poetry Poetry Magazine Poetry Magazine Archive Submit to Poetry

Share Once, as I was burying one of my dead selves, the grave-digger came by and said to me, “Of all those who come here to bury, you alone I like.” Said I, “You please me exceedingly, but why do you like me?” “Because,” said he, “They come weeping and go weeping—you only come laughing and go laughing.” Copyright Credit: Kahlil Gibran, "The Grave-Digger" from The Madman: His Parables and Poems. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1918. Public Domain.

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