I THOUGHT of Thee, my partner and my guide, <br /> As being pass'd away.--Vain sympathies! <br /> For, backward, Duddon! as I cast my eyes, <br />I see what was, and is, and will abide; <br />Still glides the Stream, and shall for ever glide; <br /> The Form remains, the Function never dies; <br /> While we, the brave, the mighty, and the wise, <br />We Men, who in our morn of youth defied <br />The elements, must vanish;--be it so! <br /> Enough, if something from our hands have power <br /> To live, and act, and serve the future hour; <br />And if, as toward the silent tomb we go, <br /> Through love, through hope, and faith's transcendent dower, <br />We feel that we are greater than we know.<br /><br />William Wordsworth<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/valedictory-sonnet-to-the-river-duddon/
