A LOSS.
Reading edition
How hard a thing it is to part From those we love and cherish; How deeply does it pain one's heart To know all things must perish! And when a friend and comrade dear Is lost to us forever, We feel how frail are all things here, Since e'en best friends must sever. I, too, have lost a friend, who broke Its power when care was near me; And troubles disappeared in smoke When he was by to cheer me. But as friends fall when valued most, Like fruit that over-ripe is. My loved companion I have lost,— That friend my meerschaum pipe is!
Judy (1873).