Oft, in the stilly night, <br />Ere slumber's chain has bound me, <br />Fond memory brings the light <br />Of other days around me; <br />The smiles, the tears, <br />Of boyhood's years, <br />The words of love then spoken; <br />The eyes that shone, <br />Now dimm'd and gone, <br />The cheerful hearts now broken! <br />Thus, in the stilly night, <br />Ere slumber's chain hath bound me, <br />Sad memory brings the light <br />Of other days around me. <br /> <br />When I remember all <br />The friends, so link'd together, <br />I've seen around me fall, <br />Like leaves in wintry weather; <br />I feel like one <br />Who treads alone <br />Some banquet-hall deserted, <br />Whose lights are fled, <br />Whose garlands dead, <br />And all but he departed! <br />Thus, in the stilly night, <br />Ere slumber's chain has bound me, <br />Sad memory brings the light <br />Of other days around me.<br /><br />Thomas Moore<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/oft-in-the-stilly-night/
