409. Valedictory Sonnet to the River Duddon

William Wordsworth (1770—1850)

  I THOUGHT of Thee, my partner and my guide,

  As being past away.—Vain sympathies!

  For, backward, Duddon! as I cast my eyes,

  I see what was, and is, and will abide;

  Still glides the Stream, and shall for ever glide;

  The Form remains, the Function never dies;

  While we, the brave, the mighty, and the wise,

  We Men, who in our morn of youth defied

  The elements, must vanish;—be it so!

  Enough, if something from our hands have power

  To live, and act, and serve the future hour;

  And if, as toward the silent tomb we go,

  Through love, through hope, and faith’s transcendent dower,

  We feel that we are greater than we know.