It is no gift I tender,
A
loan is all I can;
But do not scorn the lender;
Man
gets no more from man.
Oh, mortal man may borrow
What
mortal man can lend;
And 'twill not end to-morrow,
Though sure enough 'twill end.
If death and time are stronger,
A
love may yet be strong;
The world will last for longer,
But
this will last for long.
A.E. Housman
from 'Additional Poems'
Housman, a fine Oxford classicist, was always surprised when people saw his lyrics as somehow inspired by ancient Rome. He could never persuade them that his real influence was German Romanticism, notably Heinrich Heine.
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