EPITAPH

By Thomas Hardy

I never cared for Life: Life cared for me,

And hence I owed it some fidelity.

It now says, “Cease; at length thou hast learnt to grind

Sufficient toll for an unwilling mind,

And I dismiss thee — not without regard

That thou didst ask no ill-advised reward,

Nor sought in me much more than thou couldst find.”