Thy Father’s friend

Forsake not thou thy father’s friend,
Forsake not thou thine own;
Though care and grief his form may bow,
And frosts of age be on his brow,
And like a leafless willow now
He stand on earth alone.

Forsake not thou thy father’s friend,
Revere the hoary head;
Thou may’st have little to bestow
To lessen want, or lighten woe,
But who does not the solace know
Which kindly words can shed!

Forsake not thou thy father’s friend;
So when thy strength is o’er,
May’st thou ne’er want a friend in need,
Thy age to cheer, thy footsteps lead,
But he who is a “Friend indeed”
Be thine for evermore!