That which we had we still possess, Though leaves may drop and stars may fall; No circumstance can make it less, Or take it from us, all in all. That which is lost we did not own; We only held it for a day -- A leaf by careless breezes blown: No fate could take our own away. I hold it as a changeless law From which no soul can sway or swerve, We have that in us which will draw Whate'er we need or most deserve. Even as the magnet to the steel Our souls are to our best desires; The Fates have hearts and they can feel -- They know what each true life requires. We think we lose when we most gain; We call joys ended ere begun; When stars fade out do skies complain, Or glory in the rising sun? No fate could rob us of our own -- No circumstance can make it less; What time removes was but a loan, For what was ours we still possess. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...PEEWEE by ALFRED FRANCIS KREYMBORG THE PORTRAIT by DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI SONGS OF NIGHT TO MORNING: 1. AT THE THEATRE by GEORGE BARLOW (1847-1913) ACHRONOS by EDMUND CHARLES BLUNDEN NATALIA'S RESURRECTION: 20 by WILFRID SCAWEN BLUNT THE ORGANIST IN HEAVEN (SAMUEL SEBASTIAN WESLEY) by THOMAS EDWARD BROWN THE OLD MAN'S FUNERAL by WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT FAMILIAR EPISTLES ON A SERMON, 'OFFICE & OPERATIONS OF HOLY SPIRIT': 4 by JOHN BYROM |