My childhood’s home I see again,
And sadden with the view;
And still as memory crowds my brain,
There’s pleasure in it too.
O Memory! Thou midway world between earth and paradise,
Where things decayed and loved ones lost
In dreamy shadows rise,
And, freed from all that’s earthly vile,
Seen hallowed, pure and bright,
Like scenes in some enchanted isle
All bathed in liquid light.
Near twenty years have passed
Since here I bid farewell
To woods and fields, and scenes of play,
And playmates loved so well;
Where many were, but few remain
Of old familiar things;
Where memory will hallow all
We’ve known, and know no more.