"The gay will laugh When thou art gone, the solemn brood of care Plod on, and each one as before will chase His favourite phantom; yet all these shall leave Their mirth and their employments, and shall come, And make their bed with thee."
William Cullen Bryant was an American poet and journalist best known for 'Thanatopsis'. He served for decades as editor of the New York Evening Post and was a major figure in 19th-century American letters.