FESTIVAL OF THE ALUMNI, 1857 <br /> <br />THE noon of summer sheds its ray <br />On Harvard's holy ground; <br />The Matron calls, the sons obey, <br />And gather smiling round. <br /> <br /> <br />CHORUS. <br />Then old and young together stand, <br />The sunshine and the snow, <br />As heart to heart, and hand in hand, <br />We sing before we go! <br /> <br /> <br />Her hundred opening doors have swung <br />Through every storied hall <br />The pealing echoes loud have rung, <br />'Thrice welcome one and all!' <br />Then old and young, etc. <br /> <br />We floated through her peaceful bay, <br />To sail life's stormy seas <br />But left our anchor where it lay <br />Beneath her green old trees. <br />Then old and young, etc. <br /> <br />As now we lift its lengthening chain, <br />That held us fast of old, <br />The rusted rings grow bright again,-- <br />Their iron turns to gold. <br />Then old and young, etc. <br /> <br />Though scattered ere the setting sun, <br />As leaves when wild winds blow, <br />Our home is here, our hearts are one, <br />Till Charles forgets to flow. <br />Then old and young, etc.<br /><br />Oliver Wendell Holmes<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-parting-song/
