Gone！ and they return no more, But they leave a light in the heart； The murmur of waves that kiss a shore Will never, I know, depart.
Gone！ yet with us still they stay, And their memories throb through life； The music that hushes or stirs to-day, Is toned by their calm or strife.
Gone！ and yet they never go！ We kneel at the shrine of time： 'Tis a mystery no man may know, Nor tell in a poet's rhyme.