Epitaphs

by Anne Bradstreet — a poem card from Justes Mots

Two epitaphs—one for Bradstreet's mother and one for her father—commemorating their virtues and character in formal, concise verse. These inscriptional poems honor familial bonds and exemplary lives of piety, wisdom, and service. The epitaphs serve as both personal memorials and examples of a traditional poetic form used to preserve memory and virtue.

Her Mother's Epitaph

Here lies
A worthy matron of unspotted life,
A loving mother and obedient wife,
A friendly neighbor, pitiful to poor,
Whom oft she fed, and clothed with her store;
To servants wisely aweful, but yet kind,…

Themes: sympathy · grief · reflection