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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


AROUND THE CORNER by CHARLES HANSON TOWNE

First Line: AROUND THE CORNER I HAVE A FRIEND
Last Line: AROUND THE CORNER, A VANISHED FRIEND.
Subject(s): FRIENDSHIP;

Around the corner I have a friend,
In this great city that has no end;
Yet days go by, and weeks rush on,
And before I know it a year is gone,
And I never see my old friend's face,
For Life is a swift and terrible race.
He knows I like him just as well
As in the days when I rang his bell
And he rang mine. We were younger then,
And now we are busy, tired men:
Tired with playing a foolish game,
Tired with trying to make a name.
"Tomorrow," I say, "I will call on Jim,
Just to show that I'm thinking of him."
But tomorrow comes -- and tomorrow goes,
And the distance between us grows and grows
Around the corner! -- yet miles away. . . .
"Here's a telegram, sir. . . ."
@3"Jim died today."@1
And that's what we get, and deserve in the end:
Around the corner, a vanished friend.



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