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Age

Of all the things I did not say
I screamed aloud the most
That fear of seeming amity
Toward my unfriendly host

While each excuse did guard that lie
The wall that guarded still
Looked aged from sheer neglect at length
‘Til eyes beheld its will

I tore it down, and tear it down
For each revealed truth
To summon more from memory
Than years of rosy youth

Though words that speak simplicity
Take first the mourner’s tongue
In end they free one’s heart to glean
The candor of the young
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