| Joseph Friedlander, comp. The Standard Book of Jewish Verse. 1917. | | | | Lessons of the Past | | By Harry Weiss |
| | | FROM mem’ry’s lofty vantage ground | |
| Our mental gaze we shift around | |
| O’er stretches of the past. | |
| We see dim realms of fading glory | |
| The trysting place of figures hoary, | 5 |
| Whose plaintive accents sound one story: | |
| God’s world alone doth last. | |
| |
| We see the trophies won in strife | |
| That graced the triumphs of our life | |
| Lie strewn in sad array. | 10 |
| Each mould’ring relic wails a strain, | |
| The warning dirge of myriads slain | |
| Whose echoes roll an old refrain: | |
| All earthly must decay. | |
| |
| But in this threnody that saddens | 15 |
| A message rings that ever gladdens, | |
| Ne’er perish soul and name, | |
| Though strongest hopes be broken, | |
| Yet every good word spoken | |
| Remains sweet mem’ry’s token | 20 |
| Of amaranthine fame. | | | | |
|
|
