The worm's eye view

Let not Ambition mock their useful toil, 
         Their homely joys, and destiny obscure; 
Nor Grandeur hear with a disdainful smile 
         The short and simple annals of the poor. 

The boast of heraldry, the pomp of pow'r, 
         And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave, 
Awaits alike th' inevitable hour. 
         The paths of glory lead but to the grave. 

From Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard
BY THOMAS GRAY. 1751