I
I would not if I could undo my past,Tho’ for its sake my future is a blank;My past, for which I have myself to thank,For all its faults and follies first and last.I would not cast anew the lot once cast,Or launch a second ship for one that sank,Or drug with sweets the bitterness I drank,Or break by feasting my perpetual fast.I would not if I could: for much more dearIs one remembrance than a hundred joys, 10More than a thousand hopes in jubilee;Dearer the music of one tearful voiceThat unforgotten calls and calls to me,‘Follow me here, rise up, and follow here.’