Through All The Years

By James W. Foley

Time is just a little fleeter;
Friendship just a little sweeter,
And the fruits of memory mellow
As the years and years go by.
Old friends seem a little dearer;
Hearts to hearts a little nearer.
When the leaves turn red and yellow
Underneath the Autumn sky.

Dreams with recollections tender
Fill the heart with richer splendor,
As the light gleams soft and falling
Through some old cathedral dome,
And, to faults a little blinder
We grow just a little kinder,
And the dream that's calling, calling
Is of old friends and of home.

Friends we cling to may be fewer
But the love for them is truer,
For we know life's richest treasure
To be friendship that endures,
And the old friends all grow dearer
As we see with eyes grown clearer
That joy's gladdest, fullest measure
Is a friendship such as yours.

So I smile a little longer,
And the pull's a little stronger
On my heart strings as I sit and dream
Of some old friend and true
With my eyes a little brighter
And my heart a little lighter,
For the mellow lights of memory gleam
Along the trail to you.

And if time's a little fleeter,
Friendship's just a little sweeter,
And the story of it's splendor
Always old and ever new;
How the years make old friends dearer,
Hearts to hearts a little nearer
Till with friendship grown more tender
I am telling this to you.