Friends . . . Old Friends . . .

William Ernest Henley

Friends . . . old friends . . .
One sees how it ends.
A woman looks
Or a man tells lies,
And the pleasant brooks
And the quiet skies,
Ruined with brawling
And caterwauling,
Enchant no more
As they did before.
And so it ends
With friends.

Friends . . . old friends . . .
And what if it ends?
Shall we dare to shirk
What we live to learn?
It has done its work,
It has served its turn;
And, forgive and forget
Or hanker and fret,
We can be no more
As we were before.
When it ends, it ends
With friends.

Friends . . . old friends . . .
So it breaks, so it ends.
There let it rest!
It has fought and won,
And is still the best
That either has done.
Each as he stands
The work of its hands,
Which shall be more
As he was before? . . .
What is it ends
With friends?

Next 10 Poems

• William Ernest Henley : From A Window In Princes Street
• William Ernest Henley : Grave
• William Ernest Henley : Gulls In An Aery Morrice
• William Ernest Henley : House-surgeon
• William Ernest Henley : I Am The Reaper
• William Ernest Henley : I Gave My Heart To A Woman
• William Ernest Henley : I. M. R. G. C. B. 1878
• William Ernest Henley : I. M.-margaret Emma Henley ( 1888-1894 )
• William Ernest Henley : I. M.-margaritae Sorori
• William Ernest Henley : I. M.-r. L. S. ( 1850-1894 )

Previous 10 Poems

• William Ernest Henley : Fill A Glass With Golden Wine
• William Ernest Henley : Etching
• William Ernest Henley : Envoy-to Charles Baxter
• William Ernest Henley : Enter Patient
• William Ernest Henley : England, My England
• William Ernest Henley : Double Ballade Of The Nothingness Of Things
• William Ernest Henley : Double Ballade Of Life And Fate
• William Ernest Henley : Discharged
• William Ernest Henley : Dedication-to My Wife
• William Ernest Henley : Crosses And Troubles A-many Have Proved Me