Bliss Carman, et al., eds. The World’s Best Poetry.
Volume III. Sorrow and Consolation. 1904. | | | | VI. Consolation | | Death in Youth | | Philip James Bailey (1816–1902) |
| | From “Festus”
FOR to die young is youth’s divinest gift; | |
| To pass from one world fresh into another, | |
| Ere change hath lost the charm of soft regret, | |
| And feel the immortal impulse from within | |
| Which makes the coming life cry always, On! | 5 |
| And follow it while strong, is heaven’s last mercy. | |
| There is a fire-fly in the south, but shines | |
| When on the wing. So is ’t with mind. When once | |
| We rest, we darken. On! saith God to the soul, | |
| As unto the earth for ever. On it goes, | 10 |
| A rejoicing native of the infinite, | |
| As is a bird, of air; an orb, of heaven. | | | | |
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