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“An End Piece” by Ford Madox Ford 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (17 Dec 187326 Jun 1939)
Close the book and say good-bye to everything;
Pass up from the shore and pass by byre and stall,
—For the smacks shall sail home on the tail of the tides,
And the kine shall stand deep in the sweet water sides,
And they still shall go burying, still wedding brides,
But I must be gone in the morning.
One more look, and so farewell, sweet summering,
One moment more and then no more at all,
For the skipper shall summon his hands to the sea,
And the shepherd still shepherd his sheep on the lea,
But it’s over and done with the man that was me,
As over the hill comes the morning.