GEORGE A. CARR

O playmate of the far-away

And dear delights of Boyhood's day,

And friend and comrade true and tried

Through length of years of life beside,

I bid you thus a fond farewell

Too deep for words or tears to tell.

But though I lose you, nevermore

To greet you at the open door,

To grasp your hand or see your smile,

I shall be thankful all the while

Because your love and loyalty

Have made a happier world for me.

So rest you, Playmate, in that land

Still hidden from us by His hand,

Where you may know again in truth

All of the glad days of your youth —

As when in days of endless ease

We played beneath the apple trees.