  Friends, let him rest In midnight now. Desire has gone On the weary quest With aching brow; Until the dawn, Friends, let him rest. With a boy’s desire He set the cup To his lips to drink; The ruddy fire Was lifted up At day’s cool brink, With a boy’s desire. The heart of a boy! He tasted life, And the bitter sting Of sorrow in joy, Failure in strife, Was pain to wring The heart of a boy. In a childish whim, He spilled the wine Upon the floor,— In beads on the brim Was a glitter of brine,— Then, out at the door In a childish whim! Out of the storm, In the flickering light, A broken glass Lies on our warm Hearthstone to-night, While shadows pass Out of the storm. Friends, let him rest In midnight now. Desire has gone On the weary quest With aching brow: Until the dawn, Friends, let him rest. In sorrow and shame For the craven heart, In manhood’s breast With valor’s name, Let him depart Unto his rest In sorrow and shame. In after years God, who bestows Or withholds the valor, Shall wipe all tears— Haply, who knows?— From his face’s pallor In after years. He could not learn To fight with his peers In sturdier fashion; Let him return Through the night with tears, Stung with the passion He could not learn. All-bountiful, calm, Where the great stars burn, And the spring bloom smothers The night with balm, Let him return To the silent Mother’s All-bountiful calm. Friends, let him rest In midnight now. Desire has gone On the weary quest With aching brow: Until the dawn, Friends, let him rest. |
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