Ah, dead and done! Forever dead and done
The mellow dusks, the friendly dusks and dim,
When Charley shook the cocktails up, or Tim—?
Gone are ten thousand gleaming moments, gone
Like fireflies twinkling toward oblivion!
Ah, how the bubbles used to leap and swim,
Breaking in laughter round the goblet's brim,
When Walter pulled a cork for us, or John!
I have seen ghosts of men I never knew,—
Great, gracious souls, the golden hearts of earth—
Look from the shadows in those rooms we love,
Living a wistful instant in our mirth;
I have seen Jefferson smile down at Drew,
And Booth pause, musing, on the stair above.