101 Poems, Number 92

Favorite Poems Throughout My Life

92: “My Lost Youth,” 1855, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–82)

It was in high school—junior year*—

That I first heard this poem said.

My English teacher,** who was near

Retirement, one day raised his head

And said he had some words today.

Then he recited “My Lost Youth”—

He’d memorized it—on the way

I sat and listened (this, the truth)

And was so moved by what I heard.

The decades flowed. That teacher died.

And though my mind had somewhat blurred,

I thought of him. And it. I tried

To learn the thing myself. I did.

And when retirement day had come

(My own), I one day stood amid

My students. And that day—deep from

My memory the words returned,

And as I spoke, I heard the voice

Of my old teacher. I had earned

Those words—was glad I’d made the choice:

Remember and then memorize

Those words that meant so much to me—

Those words that brought tears to my eyes—

Those words that are a depthless sea.

Link to poem.

*1960–61
**Augustus H. Brunelle (1894–1978); Hiram High School; Hiram, OH