We do not say good-bye. Somehow the soul Keeps all that has been loved with it always. The bodies break, friends go, the seasons roll; But of each cherished thing the spirit stays. They are like summer shining on the air — These forms, this breathing earth, these radiant friends. From their remembered splendor I shall wear Some light about me till my moment ends. I cannot carve your lovely shape in stone, Staying awhile its excellence from decay, Nor fix your beauty into paint. Alone A look upon my face will sometimes say How beautiful are the things which I have known That came from earth, that turn again to clay. — Lawrence Lee, from Tomorrow Good-bye (1933)The piece is here. Please email me if you would like permission to perform it.
(Lawrence Lee coprighted Tomorrow Good-bye in 1933, but did not renew the copyright after the initial 28 year period, so the text of the poem is in the public domain.)
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