Classic Poem

Good-by, old stamp; it 's nasty luck
That ends our friendship so.
When others failed, you gamely stuck,
But now you 've got to go.
So here 's a flood of honest tears,
And here 's an honest sigh.
Good-by, old friend of many years —
Good-by, old stamp, good-by!

Your life has been a varied one,
With curious phases fraught —
Sometimes a check, sometimes a dun,
Your daily coming brought;
Smiles to a waiting lover's face,
Tears to a mother's eye,
Or joy or pain to every place —
Good-by, old stamp, good-by!

You bravely toiled, and better men
Will vouch for what I say;
Although you have been licked, 't was when
Your face turned t' other way.
'T was often in a box you got
(As you will not deny)
For going through the mails, I wot —
Good-by, old stamp, good-by!

Ah, in your last expiring breath
The tale of years is heard —
The sound of voices hushed in death,
A mother's dying word,
A maiden's answer, soft and sweet,
A wife's regretful sigh,
The patter of a baby's feet —
Good-by, old stamp, good-by!

What wonder, then, that at this time
When you and I must part,
I should aspire to speak in rhyme
The promptings of my heart?
Go, bide with all those mem'ries dear
That live when others die;
You 've nobly served your purpose here —
Good-by, old stamp, good-by!