Poems Class of 29 (1851-1889)

Project Gutenberg EBook The Poetical Works of O. W. Holmes, Volume 5. Poems of the Class of '29(1851-1889)?#19 in our series by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook.
This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the header without written permission.
Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is important information about your specific rights and restrictions in how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved.
**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts**
**EBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971**
*****These EBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers*****
Title: The Poetical Works of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Volume 5.
Poems of the Class of '29(1851-1889)
Author: Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
Release Date: January, 2005 [Etext #7392]?[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule]?[Most recently updated: April 22, 2003]
Edition: 10
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
? START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK POETRY OF O. W. HOLMES, V5 ***
This eBook was produced by David Widger [[email protected] ]
THE POETICAL WORKS
OF
OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES
CONTENTS:
POEMS OF THE CLASS OF '29 (1851-1889)
BILL AND JOE?A SONG OF "TWENTY-NINE"?QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS?AN IMPROMPTU?THE OLD MAN DREAMS?REMEMBER--FORGET?OUR INDIAN SUMMER?MARE RUBRUM?THE Boys?LINES?A VOICE OF THE LOYAL NORTH?J. D. R.?VOYAGE OF THE GOOD SHIP UNION?"CHOOSE YOU THIS DAY WHOM YE WILL SERVE"?F. W. C.?THE LAST CHARGE?OUR OLDEST FRIEND?SHERMAN 'S IN SAVANNAH?MY ANNUAL?ALL HERE?ONCE MORE?THE OLD CRUISER?HYMN FOR THE CLASS-MEETING?EVEN-SONG?THE SMILING LISTENER?OUR SWEET SINGER: J. A.?H. C. M., H. S., J. K. W.?WHAT I HAVE COME FOR?OUR BANKER?FOR CLASS-MEETING?"AD AMICOS "?HOW NOT TO SETTLE IT?THE LAST SURVIVOR?THE ARCHBISHOP AND GIL BLAS?THE SHADOWS?BENJAMIN PEIRCE?IN THE TWILIGHT?A LOVING-CUP SONG?THE GIRDLE OF FRIENDSHIP?THE LYRE OF ANACREON?THE OLD TUNE?THE BROKEN CIRCLE?THE ANGEL-THIEF?AFTER THE CURFEW
POEMS OF THE CLASS OF '29
1851-1889
BILL AND JOE
COME, dear old comrade, you and I?Will steal an hour from days gone by,?The shining days when life was new,?And all was bright with morning dew,?The lusty days of long ago,?When you were Bill and I was Joe.
Your name may flaunt a titled trail?Proud as a cockerel's rainbow tail,?And mine as brief appendix wear?As Tam O'Shanter's luckless mare;?To-day, old friend, remember still?That I am Joe and you are Bill.
You've won the great world's envied prize,?And grand you look in people's eyes,?With H O N. and L L. D.?In big brave letters, fair to see,--?Your fist, old fellow! off they go!--?How are you, Bill? How are you, Joe?
You've worn the judge's ermined robe;?You 've taught your name to half the globe;?You've sung mankind a deathless strain;?You've made the dead past live again?The world may call you what it will,?But you and I are Joe and Bill.
The chaffing young folks stare and say?"See those old buffers, bent and gray,--?They talk like fellows in their teens!?Mad, poor old boys! That's what it means,"--?And shake their heads; they little know?The throbbing hearts of Bill and Joe!--
How Bill forgets his hour of pride,?While Joe sits smiling at his side;?How Joe, in spite of time's disguise,?Finds the old schoolmate in his eyes,--?Those calm, stern eyes that melt and fill?As Joe looks fondly up at Bill.
Ah, pensive scholar, what is fame??A fitful tongue of leaping flame;?A giddy whirlwind's fickle gust,?That lifts a pinch of mortal dust;?A few swift years, and who can show?Which dust was Bill and which was Joe?
The weary idol takes his stand,?Holds out his bruised and aching hand,?While gaping thousands come and go,--?How vain it seems, this empty show!?Till all at once his pulses thrill;--?'T is poor old Joe's "God bless you, Bill!"
And shall we breathe in happier spheres?The names that pleased our mortal ears;?In some sweet lull of harp and song?For earth-born spirits none too long,?Just whispering of the world below?Where this was Bill and that was Joe?
No matter; while our home is here?No sounding name is half so dear;?When fades at length our lingering day,?Who cares what pompous tombstones say??Read on the hearts that love us still,?/Hic jacet/ Joe. /Hic jacet/ Bill.
A SONG OF "TWENTY-NINE "
1851
THE summer dawn is breaking?On Auburn's tangled bowers,?The golden light is waking?On Harvard's ancient towers;?The sun is in the sky?That must see us do or die,?Ere it shine on the line?Of the CLASS OF '29.
At last the day is ended,?The tutor screws no more,?By doubt and fear attended?Each hovers round the door,?Till the good old Praeses cries,?While the tears stand in his eyes,?"You have passed, and are classed?With the Boys of '29."
Not long are they in making?The college halls their own,?Instead of standing shaking,?Too bashful to be known;?But they kick the Seniors' shins?Ere the second