Arthur Quiller-Couch, ed. 1919. The Oxford Book of English Verse: 1250–1900.
William Wordsworth. 17701850538. Valedictory Sonnet to the River Duddon
I THOUGHT of Thee, my partner and my guide, | |
As being pass’d away.—Vain sympathies! | |
For, backward, Duddon! as I cast my eyes, | |
I see what was, and is, and will abide; | |
Still glides the Stream, and shall for ever glide; | 5 |
The Form remains, the Function never dies; | |
While we, the brave, the mighty, and the wise, | |
We Men, who in our morn of youth defied | |
The elements, must vanish;—be it so! | |
Enough, if something from our hands have power | 10 |
To live, and act, and serve the future hour; | |
And if, as toward the silent tomb we go, | |
Through love, through hope, and faith’s transcendent dower, | |
We feel that we are greater than we know. |