---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: So be my passing! My task accomplished…"
description: "\"So be my passing! My task accomplished and the long day done, My wages taken, and in my heart Some late lark singing, Let me be gathered in the quiet w..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c7/william-ernest-henley-15193_accomplished_so-be-my-passing-my-task-accomplished-an_936324.jpg"
---

#  So be my passing! My task accomplished and the long day…

![“So be my passing! My task accomplished and the long day done, My wages taken, and in my heart Some late lark singing, Let me be gathered in the quiet west, The sundown splendid and serene, Death.” quote by William Ernest Henley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c7/william-ernest-henley-15193_accomplished_so-be-my-passing-my-task-accomplished-an_936324.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c7/william-ernest-henley-15193_accomplished_so-be-my-passing-my-task-accomplished-an_936324.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c7/william-ernest-henley-15193_accomplished_so-be-my-passing-my-task-accomplished-an_936324.jpg)

> “So be my passing! My task accomplished and the long day done, My wages taken, and in my heart Some late lark singing, Let me be gathered in the quiet west, The sundown splendid and serene, Death.”

[William Ernest Henley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ernest-henley/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The speaker accepts death as a peaceful transition after a life of labor, seeking tranquility in the quiet western horizon.

**In simple terms:** Death is a calm, natural end.

Key Takeaway

Embrace life's work and its peaceful conclusion.

Themes

mortality completion tranquility

Mood

somber reflective

Type

philosophical poetic

When to use this quote

- retirement
- end of a project
- final performance
- life review

Key Concepts

existential reflection acceptance

Questions to Reflect On

- What does a peaceful ending look like for you?
- How can you prepare for your own quiet west?

A Different Perspective

May evoke fear of the unknown.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Long day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-day/) [Serene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serene/) [Singing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/singing/) [Splendid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/splendid/) [Wages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wages/)

## Related quotes

> [A late lark twitters from the quiet skies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ernest-henley/a-late-lark-twitters-from-the-quiet-skies/)

[William Ernest Henley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ernest-henley/)

> [There is something tenderly appropriate in the serene death of the old. Nothing is more touching than the death of the young, the strong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/there-is-something-tenderly-appropriate-in-the-serene-death-of-the-2/)

[Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/)

> [There is something tenderly appropriate in the serene death of the old. . . . When the duties of life have all been nobly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/there-is-something-tenderly-appropriate-in-the-serene-death-of-the/)

[Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/)

> [The nightingale has a lyre of gold, The lark's is a clarion call, And the blackbird plays but a boxwood flute, But I love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ernest-henley/the-nightingale-has-a-lyre-of-gold-the-lark-s-is-a-clarion-call-and/)

[William Ernest Henley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ernest-henley/)

> [Teach me, O lark! with thee to greatly rise, to exalt my soul and lift it to the skies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/teach-me-o-lark-with-thee-to-greatly-rise-to-exalt-my-soul-and-lift/)

[Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/)

> [The little and the great are joined in one By God's great force. The wondrous golden sun Is linked unto the glow-worm's tiny spark;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-lazarus/the-little-and-the-great-are-joined-in-one-by-god-s-great-force-the/)

[Emma Lazarus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-lazarus/)

> [I think a lot about how ideas spread, how information spreads, why is it that something youre really proud of and you spend a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-peretti/i-think-a-lot-about-how-ideas-spread-how-information-spreads-why-is/)

[Jonah Peretti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-peretti/)

> [The embrace of present and past time, in which English antiquarianism becomes a form of alchemy, engenders a strange timelessness. It is as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-ackroyd/the-embrace-of-present-and-past-time-in-which-english-antiquarianism/)

[Peter Ackroyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-ackroyd/)

> [Cleave ever to the sunnier side of doubt, And cling to faith beyond the forms of faith; She reels not at the storm of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/cleave-ever-to-the-sunnier-side-of-doubt-and-cling-to-faith-beyond/)

[Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/)

> [Ascend beyond the sickly atmosphere to a higher plane, and purify yourself by drinking as if it were ambrosia the fire that fills and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/ascend-beyond-the-sickly-atmosphere-to-a-higher-plane-and-purify/)

[Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/)

> [To rise with the lark, and go to bed with the lamb.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-breton/to-rise-with-the-lark-and-go-to-bed-with-the-lamb/)

[Nicholas Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-breton/)

> [“Isn’t it queer: there are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/isn-t-it-queer-there-are-only-two-or-three-human-stories-and-they-go/)

[Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/)

> [Heaven above was blue, and earth beneath was green; the river glistened like a path of diamonds in the sun; the birds poured forth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/heaven-above-was-blue-and-earth-beneath-was-green-the-river-glistened/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place, and in the sky, The larks, still bravely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccrae/in-flanders-fields-the-poppies-blow-between-the-crosses-row-on-row/)

[John McCrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccrae/)

> [Let your trouble be Light will follow dark Though the heaven falls You may hear the lark.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/let-your-trouble-be-light-will-follow-dark-though-the-heaven-falls/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

## More by William Ernest Henley

> [“It matters not how strait the gate. How charged with punishments the scroll. I am the master of my fate. I am the captain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ernest-henley/it-matters-not-how-strait-the-gate-how-charged-with-punishments-the/)

[William Ernest Henley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ernest-henley/)

> [Life is a smoke that curls- Curls in a flickering skein, That winds and whisks and whirls, A figment thin and vain, Into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ernest-henley/life-is-a-smoke-that-curls-curls-in-a-flickering-skein-that-winds-and/)

[William Ernest Henley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ernest-henley/)

> [Into the winter's gray delight, Into the summer's golden dream, Holy and high and impartial, Death, the mother of Life, Mingles all men for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ernest-henley/into-the-winter-s-gray-delight-into-the-summer-s-golden-dream-holy/)

[William Ernest Henley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ernest-henley/)

> [ Behold me waiting—waiting for the knife… The thick, sweet mystery of chloroform, The drunken dark, the little death-in-life… \[F\]ace to face with chance, I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ernest-henley/behold-me-waiting-waiting-for-the-knife-the-thick-sweet-mystery-of/)

[William Ernest Henley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ernest-henley/)

> [Madam Life's a piece in bloom Death goes dogging everywhere: she's the tenant of the room, he's the ruffian on the stair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ernest-henley/madam-life-s-a-piece-in-bloom-death-goes-dogging-everywhere-she-s-the/)

[William Ernest Henley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ernest-henley/)

> [Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ernest-henley/under-the-bludgeonings-of-chance-my-head-is-bloody-but-unbowed/)

[William Ernest Henley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ernest-henley/)

> [Shakespeare and Rembrandt have in common the faculty of quickening speculation and compelling the minds of men to combat and discussion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ernest-henley/shakespeare-and-rembrandt-have-in-common-the-faculty-of-quickening/)

[William Ernest Henley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ernest-henley/)

> [Who but knows How it goes! Life's a last year's Nightingale, Love's a last year's rose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ernest-henley/who-but-knows-how-it-goes-life-s-a-last-year-s-nightingale-love-s-a/)

[William Ernest Henley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ernest-henley/)

> [beyond this place of wrath and tears looms but the horror of the shade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ernest-henley/beyond-this-place-of-wrath-and-tears-looms-but-the-horror-of-the-shade/)

[William Ernest Henley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ernest-henley/)

> [Or ever the knightly years were gone, with the old world to the grave, I was a King in Babylon and you were a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ernest-henley/or-ever-the-knightly-years-were-gone-with-the-old-world-to-the-grave/)

[William Ernest Henley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ernest-henley/)

> [And lo, the Hospital, gray, quiet, old, Where life and death like friendly chafferers meet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ernest-henley/and-lo-the-hospital-gray-quiet-old-where-life-and-death-like-friendly/)

[William Ernest Henley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ernest-henley/)

> [Now, to read poetry at all is to have an ideal anthology of one's own, and in that possession to be incapable of content…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ernest-henley/now-to-read-poetry-at-all-is-to-have-an-ideal-anthology-of-one-s-own/)

[William Ernest Henley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ernest-henley/)

> [Were I so tall as to reach the pole or grasp the ocean at a span, I must be measured by my soul. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ernest-henley/were-i-so-tall-as-to-reach-the-pole-or-grasp-the-ocean-at-a-span-i/)

[William Ernest Henley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ernest-henley/)

> [So many are the deaths we die Before we can be dead indeed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ernest-henley/so-many-are-the-deaths-we-die-before-we-can-be-dead-indeed/)

[William Ernest Henley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ernest-henley/)

> [Love, which is lust, is the Lamp in the Tomb. Love, which is lust, is the Call from the Gloom. Love, which is lust,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ernest-henley/love-which-is-lust-is-the-lamp-in-the-tomb-love-which-is-lust-is-the/)

[William Ernest Henley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ernest-henley/)

[Explore all 44 William Ernest Henley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ernest-henley/)

## More Accomplished quotes

> [I never believed in trying to do anything. Whatever I set out to do I found I had already accomplished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/i-never-believed-in-trying-to-do-anything-whatever-i-set-out-to-do-i/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [This is, for an accomplished Latino, an accomplished African American, an accomplished anyone who disproves stereotypes, it's a constant battle in your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/this-is-for-an-accomplished-latino-an-accomplished-african-american/)

[Sonia Sotomayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sotomayor/)

> [When you have accomplished your goal simply walk away. This is the path way to Heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/when-you-have-accomplished-your-goal-simply-walk-away-this-is-the/)

[Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/)

> [... even the most sublimely accomplished non-stop talker can't consistently please.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger-2/even-the-most-sublimely-accomplished-non-stop-talker-can-t/)

[J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/)

> [ \[U\]nless oppressed groups stick together, and on alliances of self interest rather than do-goodism; nothing can be accomplished in the long run to dismantle… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shulamith-firestone/u-nless-oppressed-groups-stick-together-and-on-alliances-of-self/)

[Shulamith Firestone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shulamith-firestone/)

> [Alas, you don't need monsters for monstrous deeds to be accomplished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/alas-you-don-t-need-monsters-for-monstrous-deeds-to-be-accomplished/)

[Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/)

> [Like all writers, he measured the achievements of others by what they had accomplished, asking of them that they measure him by what he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/like-all-writers-he-measured-the-achievements-of-others-by-what-they/)

[Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/)

> [I'm proud of what I've accomplished and that is empowering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/violet-chachki/i-m-proud-of-what-i-ve-accomplished-and-that-is-empowering/)

[Violet Chachki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/violet-chachki/)

> [We do not know today whether we are busy or idle. In times when we thought ourselves indolent, we have afterwards discovered that much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/we-do-not-know-today-whether-we-are-busy-or-idle-in-times-when-we/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [I don't know Beyoncé, but I have the impression that she's sincere, that she really is a feminist and wanted to put the word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-don-t-know-beyonc-but-i-have-the-impression-that-she-s-sincere-that/)

[Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/)

> [The gain in self-confidence of having accomplished a tiresome labour is immense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/the-gain-in-self-confidence-of-having-accomplished-a-tiresome-labour/)

[Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/)

> [With Epcot Center, the Disney corporation has accomplished something I didn't think possible in today's world. They have created a land of make-believe that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/with-epcot-center-the-disney-corporation-has-accomplished-something-i/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Listing the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act could harm bear conservation efforts by eliminating revenues from the carefully-regulated sport hunting of polar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-ridenour/listing-the-polar-bear-under-the-endangered-species-act-could-harm/)

Amy Ridenour

> [“Great things can be accomplished, when it doesnt matter who gets the credit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/great-things-can-be-accomplished-when-it-doesnt-matter-who-gets-the/)

[Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/)

> [If I could inspire you for even a moment to be yourself and love yourself, and not let what anyone has to say hinder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-neal-hartry/if-i-could-inspire-you-for-even-a-moment-to-be-yourself-and-love/)

[Joshua Neal Hartry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-neal-hartry/)

Browse all 1,379 Accomplished quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "So be my passing! My task accomplished and the long day done, My wages taken, and in my heart Some late lark singing, Let me be gathered in the quiet west, The sundown splendid and serene, Death.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "William Ernest Henley"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ernest-henley/so-be-my-passing-my-task-accomplished-and-the-long-day-done-my-wages/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Accomplished"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ernest-henley/so-be-my-passing-my-task-accomplished-and-the-long-day-done-my-wages/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c7/william-ernest-henley-15193_accomplished_so-be-my-passing-my-task-accomplished-an_936324.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c7/william-ernest-henley-15193_accomplished_so-be-my-passing-my-task-accomplished-an_936324.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c7/william-ernest-henley-15193_accomplished_so-be-my-passing-my-task-accomplished-an_936324.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“So be my passing! My task accomplished and the long day done, My wages taken, and in my heart Some late lark…” — William Ernest Henley",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "William Ernest Henley",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ernest-henley/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "So be my passing! My task...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ernest-henley/so-be-my-passing-my-task-accomplished-and-the-long-day-done-my-wages/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ernest-henley/so-be-my-passing-my-task-accomplished-and-the-long-day-done-my-wages/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```