John Greenleaf Whittier: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

The Dead Feast of the Kol-Folk

John Greenleaf Whittier

“The Dead Feast of the Kol-Folk” as printed in The Complete Poetical Works of John Greenleaf Whittier (1895).

John Greenleaf Whittier: Collected Lyrics Text 148 1895 · historical text
Public domainBalladAmerican song
Complete public-domain lyrics

This text comes from The Complete Poetical Works of John Greenleaf Whittier, a historical songbook transcribed on Wikisource and reproduced from the pinned revision linked below.

Verse 1

We have opened the door,

Once, twice, thrice!

We have swept the floor,

We have boiled the rice.

Come hither, come hither!

Come from the far lands,

Come from the star lands,

Come as before!

We lived long together,

We loved one another;

Come back to our life.

Come father, come mother,

Come sister and brother,

Child, husband, and wife,

For you we are sighing.

Come take your old places,

Come look in our faces,

The dead on the dying,

Come home!

Verse 2

We have opened the door,

Once, twice, thrice!

We have kindled the coals,

And we boil the rice

For the feast of souls.

Come hither, come hither!

Think not we fear you,

Whose hearts are so near you.

Come tenderly thought on,

Come all unforgotten,

Come from the shadow-lands,

From the dim meadow-lands

Where the pale grasses bend

Low to our sighing.

Come father, come mother,

Come sister and brother,

Come husband and friend,

The dead to the dying,

Come home!

We have opened the door

You entered so oft;

For the feast of souls

We have kindled the coals,

And we boil the rice soft.

Come you who are dearest

To us who are nearest,

Come hither, come hither,

From out the wild weather;

The storm clouds are flying,

The peepul is sighing;

Come in from the rain.

Come father, come mother,

Come sister and brother,

Come husband and lover,

Beneath our roof-cover.

Look on us again,

The dead on the dying.

Come home!

We have opened the door!

For the feast of souls

We have kindled the coals

We may kindle no more!

Snake, fever, and famine,

The curse of the Brahmin,

The sun and the dew,

They burn us, they bite us,

They waste us and smite us;

Our days are but few!

In strange lands far yonder

To wonder and wander

We hasten to you.

List then to our sighing,

While yet we are here:

Nor seeing nor hearing,

We wait without fearing

To feel you draw near.

O dead, to the dying

Come home!

Credits

Written by John Greenleaf Whittier

Words by John Greenleaf Whittier. Historical text published in The Complete Poetical Works of John Greenleaf Whittier (1895); public domain. No claim to a modern recording or arrangement.

Source & text edition

The Complete Poetical Works of John Greenleaf Whittier (1895), “The Dead Feast of the Kol-Folk”

Every text in this 1895 collected edition is by John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892), who died more than 133 years ago, so the text is in the public domain worldwide; the edition carries a Wikisource PD-old determination.

How to read this historical text and its source

Read the source on Wikisource

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Retrieved 2026-10-27. Line spacing and section labels are adapted for reading. The displayed text follows the linked edition. Editorial notes and abstract artwork are by 52lyrics.
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