Mark Twain - "Warm Summer Sun" - Lisbon, Maine - Etched in Stone on Waymarking.com

The Charles and Vesta Whitney headstone at Lisbon Center Cemetery in Lisbon, Maine, includes an adaptation of Mark Twain's poem "Warm Summer Sun" which was adapted from the last lines of Robert Richardson's poem "Annette".

The final resting place of Charles L. Whitney (September 15, 1851 - March 31, 1882) and Vesta F. Green Whitney (September 11, 1848 - August 6, 1940) is on the eastern side the cemetery's single lane drive about one third of its entire length from the entrance gate. The family name is engraved on the north side of the lengthy horizontal granite marker. The quote is centered on the back side above his name and dates to the left and hers to the right. It reads:

Warm summer sun shine kindly -- here
Cold winter winds blow softly -- here
Green sod above -- Lie light -- lie light
Good night, dear hearts -- Good night -- good night.

Twain's 1896 version originated from Richardson's much longer work which was discovered by his wife, Olivia Langdon Clemens. It was engraved on their daughter Olivia Susan Clemens' headstone when she died of spinal meningitis at age 24. After several years of sole attribution to him, Twain had Richardson's name engraved below the poem. Susy's headstone reads:

Warm summer sun,
shine brightly here,
Warm Southern wind,
blow softly here,
Green sod above,
lie light, lie light,
Good night, dear heart;
good night, good night.

Australian journalist, children's author, and poet Robert Richardson published "Willow and Wattle", a book of poems, in 1893. The final lines of his eight-stanza work about the death of 21-year-old "Annette" are:

Warm summer sun, shine friendly here;
Warm western wind, blow kindly here;
Green sod above, rest light, rest light,
Good night, Annette!
Sweetheart, good night!

Address: Lisbon Center Cemetery Lisbon Street Lisbon, Maine USA Website: Not listed

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