Some souls there are that never change,
Some friendships that endure;
That neither time nor years estrange,
Some hearts divine and pure—
And as we meet them here and there
About the world, how dear they are!
And were it not for friends like these,
To bless our cheerless fate,
The life we live on earth below
Were more than desolate,
And this dark, lonely world of ours
Were like a garden void of flowers.