Page:Poems - Southey (1799) volume 2.djvu/206

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.

192

They must fall too. Well! well! I did not think To live to see all this, and 'tis perhaps A comfort I shan't live to see it long.STRANGER.But sure all changes are not needs for the worseMy friend.OLD MAN.Mayhap they mayn't Sir;—for all thatI like what I've been us'd to. I remember All this from a child up, and now to lose it, 'Tis losing an old friend. There's nothing left As 'twas;—I go abroad and only meet With men whose fathers I remember boys; The brook that used to run before my doorThat's gone to the great pond; the trees I learnt To climb are down; and I see nothing now That tells me of old times, except the stones In the church-yard. You are young Sir and I hope Have many years in store,—but pray to God You mayn't be left the last of all your friends.
This article is issued from Wikisource. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.