FROM THE POETRY SHELF1922

When I Have Passed Away

When I have passed away and am forgotten, And no one living can recall my face, When under alien sod my bones lie rotten With not a tree or stone to mark the place; Perchance a pensive youth, with passion burning, For olden verse that smacks of love and wine, The musty pages of old volumes turning, May light upon a little song of mine, And he may softly hum the tune and wonder Who wrote the verses in the long ago; Or he may sit him down awhile to ponder Upon the simple words that touch him so.

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