296 ONE THOUSAND FAMOUS THINGS
Better Far to Pass Away
BETTER far to pass away
While the limbs are strong and young,
Ere the ending of the day.
Ere Youth's lusty song be sung.
Hot blood pulsing through the veins,
Youth's high hope a burning fire,
Young men needs must break the chains
That hold them from their heart's desire.
My friends, the hills, the sea, the sun,
The winds, the woods, the clouds, the trees ;
How feebly, if my youth were done,
Could I, an old man, relish these !
With laughter, then, I'll go to meet
What Fate has still in store for me,
And welcome Death if we should meet,
And bear him willing company.
My share of fourscore years and ten
I'll gladly yield to any man,
And take no thought of where or when,
Contented with my shorter span.
For I have learned what love may be,
And found a heart that understands,
And known a comrade's constancy,
And felt the grip of friendly hands.
Come when it may, the stern decree
For me to leave the cheery throng.
And quit the sturdy company
Of brothers that I work among.
No need for me to look askance,
Since no regret my prospect mars.
My day was happy—and perchance
The coming night is full of stars.
Richard Molesworth Dennys
His Temple
I HAVE a temple I do not
Visit, a heart I have forgot,
A self that I have never met,
A secret shrine—and yet, and yet,
This sanctuary of my soul
Unwitting I keep white and whole,
Unlatched and lit, if Thou should'st care
To enter or to tarry there.
Charles Hamilton Sorley