Page:Poems E. L. F.djvu/31

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LINES WRITTEN ON THE LAST DAY OF THE YEAR 1843
Another year hath fleeted by,
Thus short'ning life's brief destiny,
The vision of an hour.
Years as bright may come again,
But years of sorrow, years of pain,
May also o'er us lower.

Many a bright and joyous heart,
That in our gladness shared a part,
Hath also passed away;
And many hopes, careering high,
Are doomed in nothingness to die—
Brief shadows of decay.

And many a sad and bitter, tear
Hath marked the quickly-passing year,
A tide of deepest sorrow.
There is no heart would wish again,
With all its gladness, all its pain,
The present year—to-morrow.

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