It was of consumption that he died

So very young, but already his body

Inside had undergone far more decay

Than any living body, however old and

Near death, can expect to see

It was whispered – how indeed are such things every known?

That the disease had completely eaten up

The frail matter of his lungs,

And that were his heart ought

To have been there was only living lots of worms

Gathered together tightly in the shape of a heart.