WHEN youthful faith hath fled, Of loving take thy leave; Be constant to the dead, -- The dead cannot deceive. Sweet, modest flowers of spring, How fleet your balmy day! And man's brief year can bring No secondary May, -- No earthly burst again Of gladness out of gloom: Fond hope and vision wane, Ungrateful to the tomb. But 'tis an old belief That on some solemn shore, Beyond the sphere of grief, Dear friends shall meet once more, -- Beyond the sphere of time And sin and fate's control, Serene in endless prime Of body and of soul. That creed I fain would keep; That hope I'll not forgo: Eternal be the sleep, Unless to waken so! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SPOT SIX DIFFERENCES by MARVIN BELL THE ELEPHANT by HILAIRE BELLOC THE SACRAL DREAMS OF RAMON FERNANDEZ by JAMES GALVIN QUESTION by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: OAKS TUTT by EDGAR LEE MASTERS |