Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900.
By Richard HenryStoddard474 An Old Song Reversed
“T
So I said when I was young.
If I sang that song again,
’T would not be with that refrain,
Which but suits an idle tongue.
Gone the strong desire for frame.
Laurels are not for the old.
Take them, lads. Give Senex gold.
What ’s an everlasting name?
One fair woman liked my looks:
Now that Time has driven his plough
In deep furrows on my brow,
I ’m no more in her good books.
Grave beside the wintry sea,
Where my child is, and my heart,
For they would not live apart,
What has been your gain to me?
And will ever so remain:
Death, and Age, and vanished Youth
All declare this bitter truth,
There ’s a loss for every gain!