Classic Poem

But once or twice we met, touched hands.
To-day between us both expands
A waste of tumbling waters wide, —
A waste by me as yet untried,
Vague with the doubt of unknown lands.

Time like a despot speeds his sands:
A year he blots, a day he brands;
We walked, we talked by Thamis' side
But once or twice.

What makes a friend? What filmy strands
Are these that turn to iron bands?
What knot is this so firmly tied
That naught but Fate can now divide? —
Ah, these are things one understands
But once or twice!