Classic Poem

I LOOKED him in the face, my ancient foe,
I looked him in the face, and said no word:
And in my ears and in my heart I heard
The stream, the voice, the friend of long ago;
The old familiar woods were all aglow
And in their leaves a thousand memories stirred;
I looked him in the face, and said no word,
But put my hands in his, my ancient foe.

For I bethought me of the days that were,
The crowded beauty of his lavish hours,
Of many a voice so kind, and face so fair,
The mountain and the stream, the stars, the flowers;
And I bethought me too, when this shall cease,
Of that untroubled, sure, eternal peace.