A. J. J. - When he's returned

When he's returned I'll tell him -- oh,

Dear fellow, I forgot:

Time was you would have cared to know,

But now it matters not.

I mourn you, and you heed not how;

Unsaid the word must stay;

Last month was time enough, but now

The news must keep for aye.

Oh, many a month before I learn

Will find me starting still

And listening, as the days return,

For him that never will.

Strange, strange to think his blood is cold

And mine flows easy on:

And that straight look, that heart of gold,

That grace, that manhood gone.

The word unsaid will stay unsaid

Though there was much to say;

Last month was time enough: he's dead,

The news must keep for aye.