When the earth receives my final tear
And words of me is all you hear
When no longer in your presence
And unable to hold near;
This is the day grieving begins

When the common time of sorrow
Does shorten day by day
And sunrise on the morrow
You waken and you say
“of them I remember little”;
This is the day that grieving fades

When no longer from your lips
My name does easily flow
Perhaps a thought of me just slips
Bringing not the usual glow;
This is the day that grieving ebbs

When no longer does a scent
Nor a sound start to present
A memory of yesterday
Of what I was or what I meant;
This is the day that grieving dies