Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, AFTER MANY YEARS, by CARROLL RYAN


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

AFTER MANY YEARS, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: After many years and long
Last Line: Hand in hand forever on the path of peace.
Alternate Author Name(s): Ryan, William Thomas Carroll
Subject(s): Old Age; Peace


After many years and long,
Once again I hear the song
Of the wildbirds in the branches singing free,
And tho' old, and bent, and gray,
My glad heart responds to-day
As I turn to thoughts of youth, of love, of thee.

I have crossed the great divide,
I am on the sunset side,
Looking down into the valley of the dead;
But beyond the utmost rim
Of the far horizon dim
A light, as from an open door, is spread.

It may lead I know not where,
But I trust and pray that there
Our spirits will attain a higher birth;
That the hopes we cherished here
Will within a brighter sphere
Find fruition that they cannot find on earth.

When the shadows pass away
In the glory of that day,
No love, like ours pure, will ever cease.
Let us hail that coming time,
In a dream of hope sublime—
Hand in hand forever on the Path of Peace.





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