Poem by Alfred Edward Housman

A Shropshire Lad. 33. If Truth in Hearts that Perish

If truth in hearts that perish
   Could move the powers on high,
I think the love I bear you
   Should make you not to die.

Sure, sure, if stedfast meaning,
   If single thought could save,
The world might end to-morrow,
   You should not see the grave.

This long and sure-set liking,
   This boundless will to please,
--Oh, you should live for ever,
   If there were help in these.

But now, since all is idle,
   To this lost heart be kind,
Ere to a town you journey
   Where friends are ill to find. 

1. Last Poems. 22. The Sloe Was Lost in Flower
2. More Poems. 21. The World Goes None the Lamer
3. Last Poems. 13. The Deserter
4. Last Poems. 16. Spring Morning
5. More Poems. 14. The Farms of Home Lie Lost in Even

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