Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, A LETTER TO A FRIEND, by JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

A LETTER TO A FRIEND, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: The past is like a story
Last Line: As when scattered o'er the grave.
Alternate Author Name(s): Johnson Of Boone, Benj. F.
Subject(s): Fame; Friendship; Letters; Past; Reputation


The past is like a story
I have listened to in dreams
That vanished in the glory
Of the Morning's early gleams;
And -- at my shadow glancing --
I feel a loss of strength,
As the Day of Life advancing
Leaves it shorn of half its length.

But it's all in vain to worry
At the rapid race of Time --
And he flies in such a flurry
When I trip him with a rhyme,
I'll bother him no longer
Than to thank you for the thought
That "my fame is growing stronger
As you really think it ought."

And though I fall below it,
I might know as much of mirth
To live and die a poet
Of unacknowledged worth;
For Fame is but a vagrant --
Though a loyal one and brave,
And his laurels ne'er so fragrant
As when scattered o'er the grave.






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