<h2><SPAN name="chap59"></SPAN>L’ENVOI</h2>
<p class="poem">
When the time for parting comes, and the day is on the wane,<br/>
And the silent evening darkens over hill and over plain,<br/>
And earth holds no more sorrow, no more grief, and no more pain,<br/>
Shall we weary for the battle and the strife?<br/>
<br/>
When at last the trail is ending, and the stars are growing near,<br/>
And we breathe the breath of conquest, and the voices that we hear<br/>
Are the great companions’ voices that have hallowed year on year,<br/>
Shall we know an instant’s grieving as we pass?<br/>
<br/>
Shall we pause a fleeting moment ere we grasp the eager hands,<br/>
Take one last long look of wonder at the dimming of the lands,<br/>
Love the earth one glowing moment ere we pass from its demands,<br/>
Cull all beauty in its essence as we gaze?<br/>
<br/>
Or with not one backward longing shall we leap the last abyss,<br/>
Scale the highest crags glad-hearted, fearful only lest the bliss<br/>
Of an earth-remembering instant should delay the great sun’s kiss—<br/>
Consuming us within the flame?<br/></p>
<p class="left">
DOROTHEA LAWRENCE MANN</p>
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