Higginson and Bigelow, comps. American Sonnets. 1891.
The Memory of the HeartDaniel Webster (17821852)
I
We keep them in the memory of the brain;
Names, things, and facts—whate’er we knowledge call,
There is the common ledger for them all;
And images on this cold surface traced
Make slight impressions, and are soon effaced.
On which our friendship and our love to write;
That these may never from the soul depart,
We trust them to the memory of the heart.
There is no dimming—no effacement here;
Each new pulsation keeps the record clear;
Warm, golden letters, all the tablet fill,
Nor lose their lustre till the heart stands still.