Though I've tried I cannot recall again
The comfort he gave me there.
But another came, and his lips were dumb
As he grasped me by the hand,
And he stammered: "Old man, I had to come,
Oh, I hope you'll understand."
And ever since then I have felt his hand
Clasped tightly in my own,
And to-day his silence I understand—
My sorrowing he had known.