Classic Poem

Lost man! Lost man!
People, have you met him?
Idle fellow; loath to delve,
Indisposed to scheme.
Liked too well to shirk his task
When circumstances let him;
Loved to sit about and loaf,
And strum the strings and dream.

What he dreamt of, Heaven knows!
Love and faith and beauty—
Towers that glittered in the sun—
Vales of sheltered peace.

Gone is he this twenty years;
Baffling all pursuit, he
Loiters—where? While fast on me
The sober years increase.

Lost man! Lost man!
People, have you met him?
Meditative-seeming chap of—
Maybe—twenty-three?
Good riddance, very probably,
And yet I can't forget him.
I wish I had him back to dream
My Christmas dream for me.