A Loss

How hard a thing it is to part
From those we love and cherish;
How deeply does it pain one’s heart
To know all things must perish!

And when a friend and comrade dear
Is lost to us forever,
We feel how frail are all things here,
Since e’en best friends must sever.

I, too, have lost a friend, who broke
Its power when care was near me;
And troubles disappeared in smoke
When he was by to cheer me.

But as friends fall when valued most,
Like fruit that over-ripe is.
My loved companion I have lost,—
That friend my meerschaum pipe is!

Judy (1873).