O PLAYMATE of the far-away And dear delights of Boyhood's day, And friend and comrade true and tried Through length of years of life beside, I bid you thus a fond farewell Too deep for words or tears to tell. But though I lose you, nevermore To greet you at the open door, To grasp your hand or see your smile, I shall be thankful all the while Because your love and loyalty Have made a happier world for me. So rest you, Playmate, in that land Still hidden from us by His hand, Where you may know again in truth All of the glad days of your youth -- As when in days of endless ease We played beneath the apple trees. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A HYMN [TO THE NAME AND] IN HONOR OF SAINT TERESA by RICHARD CRASHAW THE VOICE OF THE BANJO by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR THE OLD VIOLIN by MAURICE FRANCIS EGAN ODE SUNG IN THE TOWN HALL, CONCORD, JULY 4, 1857 by RALPH WALDO EMERSON TO LUCASTA ON GOING TO THE WARS FOR THE FOURTH TIME by ROBERT RANKE GRAVES |