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To John Greenleaf Whittier On His Eightieth Birthday

By Oliver Wendell Holmes

Topics: classic

Friend, whom thy fourscore winters leave more dear     Than when life's roseate summer on thy cheek     Burned in the flush of manhood's manliest year,     Lonely, how lonely! is the snowy peak     Thy feet have reached, and mine have climbed so near!     Close on thy footsteps 'mid the landscape drear     I stretch my hand thine answering grasp to seek,     Warm with the love no rippling rhymes can speak!     Look backward! From thy lofty height survey     Thy years of toil, of peaceful victories won,     Of dreams made real, largest hopes outrun!     Look forward! Brighter than earth's morning ray     Streams the pure light of Heaven's unsetting sun,     The unclouded dawn of life's immortal day!

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"Friend, whom thy fourscore winters leave more dear..."

This evocative piece by Oliver Wendell Holmes, titled "To John Greenleaf Whittier On His Eightieth Birthday", represents a masterful exploration of classic. The lines capture a profound emotional resonance... ### Why We Love This Line At Linespedia, we believe that poetry is the ultimate sanctuary for the soul...

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Author:Oliver Wendell Holmes

"Friend, whom thy fourscore winters leave more dear..." by Oliver Wendell Holmes

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Oliver Wendell Holmes

About Oliver Wendell Holmes

Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. (1809–1894) was an American poet, physician, and essayist. His poems "Old Ironsides" and "The Chambered Nautilus" are American classics. He was part of the Fireside Poets group.

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