WHEN I AM OLD —

When I am old and drenched in worlds of sadness,

And wear a lacy cap upon my head;

When, looking past the future's singing gladness,

I linger, wistful, in the years long dead.

When I am old, and young folk all about me,

Speak softly of religion, WHEN THEY SPEAK,

When parties are a grand success without me;

And when my laugh is fluttering and weak —