Classic Poem

When beauty cannot charm, nor ear delight,
When after all the striving comes the end,
When naught avails, nor strength, nor gold, nor friend,
When Death unchallenged claims the final right,
When heaven fades before the straining sight,
And flowers and sunshine into darkness blend —
Then — when the soul makes ready to descend
The silent regions of eternal night —
Then, in that hour supreme, shall I live o'er
Those lovely days of golden memories,
Lived long ago, but ah! not lived in vain;
Then shall my spirit hear thy voice once more,
Once more thy presence dawn upon my eyes,
And dying, I shall see thee once again.