Poems (Ford)/To an Aged Friend
TO AN AGED FRIEND.
Oh, aged friend, beloved in early days,
Deep in my heart thy memory lingers yet,
Thy dear face follows me through life's rough ways,
Thy love and kindness I can ne'er forget;
And should this broad, bright world to me become
A dreary waste, a dark and stormy sea,
One beacon-light will cheer me through the gloom:
My strong, unchanging love and faith in thee.
Deep in my heart thy memory lingers yet,
Thy dear face follows me through life's rough ways,
Thy love and kindness I can ne'er forget;
And should this broad, bright world to me become
A dreary waste, a dark and stormy sea,
One beacon-light will cheer me through the gloom:
My strong, unchanging love and faith in thee.
Dear friend, each furrow traced by Time's rude plow
Upon thy loved and venerable face,
Sketched by the faithful hand of Memory now,
For me invests it with a reverent grace,
And makes it lovelier, because more dear,
Than beauty's rounded cheek with rosy glow,
And youth's soft curls to me will ne'er appear
More beautiful than thy smooth locks of snow.
Upon thy loved and venerable face,
Sketched by the faithful hand of Memory now,
For me invests it with a reverent grace,
And makes it lovelier, because more dear,
Than beauty's rounded cheek with rosy glow,
And youth's soft curls to me will ne'er appear
More beautiful than thy smooth locks of snow.
What pleasure it was by thy side to sit
In summer evenings, 'neath the whispering leaves,
And watch with thee the wheeling swallows flit
Into their sheltered nests beneath the eaves,
Or breathe my troubles in thy kindly ear,
Or tell my joys and fancies vain and wild,
For thou wert not too great and wise to hear
The little woes and pleasures of a child.
In summer evenings, 'neath the whispering leaves,
And watch with thee the wheeling swallows flit
Into their sheltered nests beneath the eaves,
Or breathe my troubles in thy kindly ear,
Or tell my joys and fancies vain and wild,
For thou wert not too great and wise to hear
The little woes and pleasures of a child.
How oft I've leaned my head upon thy knee,
When seated by the hearth-fire's ruddy light,
To hear the tales so sweetly told by thee,
Of gentle fairy, or of wandering sprite;
Ah, those were happy days,—but all too fast
They vanished, giving place to darker years,
And now they seem, when glancing to the past,
Like sunny islands in a sea of tears.
When seated by the hearth-fire's ruddy light,
To hear the tales so sweetly told by thee,
Of gentle fairy, or of wandering sprite;
Ah, those were happy days,—but all too fast
They vanished, giving place to darker years,
And now they seem, when glancing to the past,
Like sunny islands in a sea of tears.
O faithful heart, O true, unchanging friend,
God's blessings fall around thee every day,
And may He in His love sweet angels send,
Who for thy aged feet will smooth life's way,
And kindly, gently, lead thee by the hand,
As thou hast led me oft in days gone by,
Till, in their gladdest strains, a seraph-band
Shall sing thy welcome to thy home on high.
God's blessings fall around thee every day,
And may He in His love sweet angels send,
Who for thy aged feet will smooth life's way,
And kindly, gently, lead thee by the hand,
As thou hast led me oft in days gone by,
Till, in their gladdest strains, a seraph-band
Shall sing thy welcome to thy home on high.