And the tear that we shed, though in secret it rolls,
Shall long keep his memory green in our souls.

These lines express a private, enduring form of mourning: even when grief is hidden (“in secret it rolls”), the act of weeping becomes a means of preserving the dead in affectionate remembrance. The metaphor “keep his memory green” suggests something living and unfaded—memory as a perennial plant sustained by emotion. The couplet also implies a tension between public composure and inward feeling, valuing sincere, personal sorrow over display. In Moore’s typical sentimental-lyric mode, the emphasis falls on tenderness and fidelity: love survives loss, and quiet tears are not weakness but a sustaining tribute that keeps the departed present within the “souls” of those who loved him.