Be Near Me

Be near me when my light is low,

When the blood creeps, and the nerves prick
And tingle; and the heart is sick,
And all the wheels of Being slow.

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Be near me when the sensuous frame

Is rack’d with pangs that conquer trust;
And Time, a maniac scattering dust,
And Life, a Fury slinging flame.

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Be near me when my faith is dry,

And men the flies of latter spring,
That lay their eggs, and sting and sing
And weave their petty cells and die.

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Be near me when I fade away,

To point the term of human strife,
And on the low dark verge of life
The twilight of eternal day.

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— Alfred, Lord Tennyson, In Memoriam, Verse L

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