TO A LATE COMER
Why didst thou come into my life so late?If it were morning I could welcome theeWith glad all-hails, and bid each hour to beThe willing servitor of thine estate,Lading thy brave ships with Time’s richest freight;If it were noonday I might hope to seeOn some fair height thy banners floating free,And hear the acclaiming voices call thee great!But it is nightfall and the stars are out;Far in the west the crescent moon hangs low,And near at hand the lurking shadows wait;Darkness and silence gather round about,Lethe’s black stream is near its overflow,—Ah, friend, dear friend, why didst thou come so late?Julia C. R. Dorr
Why didst thou come into my life so late?If it were morning I could welcome theeWith glad all-hails, and bid each hour to beThe willing servitor of thine estate,Lading thy brave ships with Time’s richest freight;If it were noonday I might hope to seeOn some fair height thy banners floating free,And hear the acclaiming voices call thee great!But it is nightfall and the stars are out;Far in the west the crescent moon hangs low,And near at hand the lurking shadows wait;Darkness and silence gather round about,Lethe’s black stream is near its overflow,—Ah, friend, dear friend, why didst thou come so late?Julia C. R. Dorr
Why didst thou come into my life so late?If it were morning I could welcome theeWith glad all-hails, and bid each hour to beThe willing servitor of thine estate,Lading thy brave ships with Time’s richest freight;If it were noonday I might hope to seeOn some fair height thy banners floating free,And hear the acclaiming voices call thee great!But it is nightfall and the stars are out;Far in the west the crescent moon hangs low,And near at hand the lurking shadows wait;Darkness and silence gather round about,Lethe’s black stream is near its overflow,—Ah, friend, dear friend, why didst thou come so late?
Why didst thou come into my life so late?
If it were morning I could welcome thee
With glad all-hails, and bid each hour to be
The willing servitor of thine estate,
Lading thy brave ships with Time’s richest freight;
If it were noonday I might hope to see
On some fair height thy banners floating free,
And hear the acclaiming voices call thee great!
But it is nightfall and the stars are out;
Far in the west the crescent moon hangs low,
And near at hand the lurking shadows wait;
Darkness and silence gather round about,
Lethe’s black stream is near its overflow,—
Ah, friend, dear friend, why didst thou come so late?
Julia C. R. Dorr