William Stanley Braithwaite, ed. (1878–1962). Anthology of Massachusetts Poets. 1922.

L’Envoi

WHEN the time for parting comes, and the day is on the wane,

And the silent evening darkens over hill and over plain,

And earth holds no more sorrow, no more grief, and no more pain,

Shall we weary for the battle and the strife?

When at last the trail is ending, and the stars are growing near,

And we breathe the breath of conquest, and the voices that we hear

Are the great companions’ voices that have hallowed year on year,

Shall we know an instant’s grieving as we pass?

Shall we pause a fleeting moment ere we grasp the eager hands,

Take one last long look of wonder at the dimming of the lands,

Love the earth one glowing moment ere we pass from its demands,

Cull all beauty in its essence as we gaze?

Or with not one backward longing shall we leap the last abyss,

Scale the highest crags glad-hearted, fearful only lest the bliss

Of an earth-remembering instant should delay the great sun’s kiss—

Consuming us within the flame?