The Poetical Works of Oliver Wendell Holmes | ||
TO J. R. L.
JULY 14, 1877
Good bye! Good bye! We cannot mend
The homely Saxon phrase.
May God be with you, parting friend
We love too well to praise.
The homely Saxon phrase.
May God be with you, parting friend
We love too well to praise.
We lose you as we lose the light
On yonder steep that burns;
For us on shore awhile tis bright
Then to the wave it turns.
On yonder steep that burns;
For us on shore awhile tis bright
Then to the wave it turns.
What though we miss the lofty blaze
Our eyes have learned to hail,—
More welcome still its widening rays
To many a wandering sail.
Our eyes have learned to hail,—
361
To many a wandering sail.
So, though we miss your light awhile,
We will not vainly sigh,
But falter with a sorrowing smile
Dear friend Good bye! Good bye!
We will not vainly sigh,
But falter with a sorrowing smile
Dear friend Good bye! Good bye!
The Poetical Works of Oliver Wendell Holmes | ||