To A Dog

PAST happiness dissolves. It fades away, Ghost-like, in that dim attic of the mind To which the dreams of childhood are consigned. Here, withered garlands hang in slow decay, And trophies glimmer in the dying ray Of stars that once with heavenly glory shined. But you, old friend, are you still left behind To tell the nearness of life's yesterday? Ah, boon companion of my vanished boy, For you he lives; in every sylvan walk He waits; and you expect him everywhere. How would you stir, what cries, what bounds of joy, If but his voice were heard in casual talk, If but his footstep sounded on the stair!