free-verse25 lines
Where?
by George W. DoneghyI.
O, where are the friends that in youth we once knew,
Whose smiles were like sunshine, whose hearts were so true?
Alas! they are lost in the darkness and gloom
That veils them from sight in the cold, silent tomb!
II.
O, where are the years that forever have fled,
And over Life's morning their radiance shed?
With the Past written down on the unending scroll
Where Time--grim destroyer--his victims enroll!
III.
O, where are the fancies, the visions, the dreams,
That filled the young breast--with which memory teems?
They have faded away--from life they have passed--
Like stars blotted out when the sky's overcast!
IV.
O, where are the hopes that have beckoned us on
With their beacons of light, through sunshine and storm?
Like spectres--like phantoms--like vapor and mist,
They have vanished forever--a will-o'-the-wisp!
V.
O, where are the harbors, the havens of rest,
That solace can give to a heart that's opprest?
They are hid from the vision beyond the blue sky,
Yet the eye of sweet Faith their portals descry!