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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


FELIX ANTONIUS: AFTER MARTIAL by HENRY JOHN NEWBOLT

Poet Analysis

First Line: TO-DAY, MY FRIEND IS SEVENTY-FIVE
Last Line: WITH MEMORIES OF A STAINLESS YOUTH.

TO-DAY, my friend is seventy-five;
He tells his tale with no regret;
His brave old eyes are steadfast yet,
His heart the lightest heart alive.

He sees behind him green and wide
The pathway of his pilgrim years;
He sees the shore, and dreadless hears
The whisper of the creeping tide.

For out of all his days, not one
Has passed and left its unlaid ghost
To seek a light for ever lost,
Or wail a deed for ever done.

So for reward of life-long truth
He lives again, as good men can,
Redoubling his allotted span
With memories of a stainless youth.



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