A Spoonerism ("Vale of Tears...?")

Vale of Tears…? A metaphor 
for life’s distress. (Most dread it.)  
"Tale of Virs"…? A roman 
of the Roman men who tread it.*

     Moral:

Life before (and after!) death...?
'Tis thought 'tis naught but shibboleth. 

     * The ‘it’ appearing at the end of the 
last line of verse is intended to refer to 
the valley. If that pronoun is heard as 
referring to the metaphor, then the final 
line should be amended to read “…men 
who spread it.”