My days among the Dead are past; <br />Around me I behold, <br />Where'er these casual eyes are cast, <br />The mighty minds of old; <br />My never-failing friends are they, <br />With whom I converse day by day. <br /> <br />With them I take delight in weal, <br />And seek relief in woe; <br />And while I understand and feel <br />How much to them I owe, <br />My cheeks have often been bedew'd <br />With tears of thoughtful gratitude. <br /> <br />My thoughts are with the Dead, with them <br />I live in long-past years, <br />Their virtues love, their faults condemn, <br />Partake their hopes and fears, <br />And from their lessons seek and find <br />Instruction with an humble mind. <br /> <br />My hopes are with the Dead, anon <br />My place with them will be, <br />And I with them shall travel on <br />Through all Futurity; <br />Yet leaving here a name, I trust, <br />That will not perish in the dust.<br /><br />Robert Southey<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/my-days-among-the-dead-are-past/
