Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE LOST FRIEND, by AMY LEVY


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE LOST FRIEND, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: The people take the thing of course
Last Line: Who yet shall dog my footsteps to the end.
Subject(s): Friendship


The people take the thing of course,
They marvel not to see
This strange, unnatural divorce
Betwixt delight and me.

I KNOW the face of sorrow, and I know
Her voice with all its varied cadences ;
Which way she turns and treads ; how at her ease
Things fit her dreary largess to bestow.

Where sorrow long abides, some be that grow
To hold her dear, but I am not of these ;
Joy is my friend, not sorrow ; by strange seas,
In some far land we wandered, long ago.

O faith, long tried, that knows no faltering !
O vanished treasure of her hands and face ! --
Beloved -- to whose memory I cling,
Unmoved within my heart she holds her place.

And never shall I hail that other "friend,"
Who yet shall dog my footsteps to the end.







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