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AVE ATQUE VALE

In Oxford, evermore the sameUnto the uttermost verge of time,Though grave-dust choke the sons of men,And silence wait upon the rime,
At evening now the skies set forthLast glories of the dying year: The wind gives chase to relict leaves:And we, we may not linger here.
A little while, and we are gone:God knows if it be ours to seeAgain the earliest hoar-frost whiteOn the long lawns of Trinity.
In Merton, of the many courtsAnd doorways good to wander through,Gable and spire shall glitter whiteOr tawny gold against the blue:
And still the winter sun shall smileAt noonday, or at sunset hourOn Magdalen, girt with ancient trees,Beneath her bright immortal tower.

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