Sonnets from The River Duddon: After-Thought

I thought of Thee, my partner and my guide,As being past away.--Vain sympathies!For, backward, Duddon! as I cast my eyes,I see what was, and is, and will abide;Still glides the Stream, and shall for ever glide;The Form remains, the Function never dies;While we, the brave, the mighty, and the wise,We Men, who in our morn of youth defiedThe elements, must vanish;--be it so!Enough, if something from our hands have powerTo live, and act, and serve the future hour;And if, as toward the silent tomb we go,Through love, through hope, and faith's transcendent dower,We feel that we are greater than we know.