Classic Poem

Oh ! give me back the past again,
With all its hopes and fears;
Or let me weep in solitude,
O'er childhood's vanished years.

Oh! give me back my mountain home,
The willow by the brook;
The robin that so sweetly sang
Within my favorite nook.

And give me what of all I prize,
The long tried friends of yore;
The welcome grasp, the kindly glance,
What could I long for more?

Vain wish! the past alone returns
To memory's silent call;
Where nourished by the springs of thought,
Our brightest treasures dwell.

I strive to mourn not for the joys
That were too pure to last;
But oh! my spirit yearns to feel
The sunshine of the past.