 | The complete poetical works of Oliver Wendell Holmes |  |
THE PARTING SONG
FESTIVAL OF THE ALUMNI, 1857
The noon of summer sheds its ray
On Harvard's holy ground;
The Matron calls, the sons obey,
And gather smiling round.
On Harvard's holy ground;
The Matron calls, the sons obey,
And gather smiling round.
CHORUS
Then old and young together stand,
The sunshine and the snow,
As heart to heart, and hand in hand,
We sing before we go!
The sunshine and the snow,
As heart to heart, and hand in hand,
We sing before we go!
Her hundred opening doors have swung;
Through every storied hall
The pealing echoes loud have rung,
“Thrice welcome one and all!”
Then old and young, etc.
Through every storied hall
The pealing echoes loud have rung,
“Thrice welcome one and all!”
Then old and young, etc.
We floated through her peaceful bay,
To sail life's stormy seas;
But left our anchor where it lay
Beneath her green old trees.
Then old and young, etc.
To sail life's stormy seas;
But left our anchor where it lay
Beneath her green old trees.
Then old and young, etc.
As now we lift its lengthening chain,
That held us fast of old,
The rusted rings grow bright again,—
Their iron turns to gold.
Then old and young, etc.
That held us fast of old,
The rusted rings grow bright again,—
Their iron turns to gold.
Then old and young, etc.
Though scattered ere the setting sun,
As leaves when wild winds blow,
Our home is here, our hearts are one,
Till Charles forgets to flow.
Then old and young, etc.
As leaves when wild winds blow,
Our home is here, our hearts are one,
Till Charles forgets to flow.
Then old and young, etc.
| The complete poetical works of Oliver Wendell Holmes | |