When will I see my companion again?
May 27, 2006 3:20 PM Subscribe
"When will I see my companion again?" I recall hearing a
poem including this line (or a subtle variation), but cannot
identify its name or the author. Can you help me identify this poem?
My Google-Fu only turns up the Don Henley song 'A Month of Sundays', which quotes from the poem (his version says "I wonder when I'll see my companion again"). I have also searched various online poetry resources (including those referenced in helpful responses to other PoetryFilter questions) to no avail.
My Google-Fu only turns up the Don Henley song 'A Month of Sundays', which quotes from the poem (his version says "I wonder when I'll see my companion again"). I have also searched various online poetry resources (including those referenced in helpful responses to other PoetryFilter questions) to no avail.
Response by poster: Thanks for the quick response, crw, though I don't think that's the poem I'm looking for. Any other thoughts?
posted by shinnin at 1:39 PM on May 28, 2006
posted by shinnin at 1:39 PM on May 28, 2006
No standard search-engine hits on poems using that phrase or minor variants that I could think up, but you probably already knew that.
Perhaps picking your brain might lead to further enlightening information, as with similar questions asked here. Do you know or think you might know any other verses or fleeting phrases? Any dim memories of where you might have hear it? Could the line itself be from a song, rather than strictly a poem?
Must the quoted line use the word companion? There are closer hits on the phrase if you move away from a strict companion requirement. Since you were just offered a close-fit poem stuffed full of "companions", I'm kinda hoping you might be worn out on the word. For example, if you accept "Billy" instead of "companion", boy do I have a ready-made answer for you. (Hey, it could happen, people have companions named Billy.)
Unfortunately, a huge amount of the world's production of poetry and other printed text is still not accessible online, so answering questions like this one often depends on the luck of triggering a reader's memory or on someone performing physical research beyond public web-based interfaces. Library science types can breathe easy about their jobs for a long while.
Incidentally, if Don Henley is quoting nontrivial amounts of material from the poem, there's a decent chance the liner notes will mention the original source.
posted by mdevore at 3:07 AM on May 29, 2006
Perhaps picking your brain might lead to further enlightening information, as with similar questions asked here. Do you know or think you might know any other verses or fleeting phrases? Any dim memories of where you might have hear it? Could the line itself be from a song, rather than strictly a poem?
Must the quoted line use the word companion? There are closer hits on the phrase if you move away from a strict companion requirement. Since you were just offered a close-fit poem stuffed full of "companions", I'm kinda hoping you might be worn out on the word. For example, if you accept "Billy" instead of "companion", boy do I have a ready-made answer for you. (Hey, it could happen, people have companions named Billy.)
Unfortunately, a huge amount of the world's production of poetry and other printed text is still not accessible online, so answering questions like this one often depends on the luck of triggering a reader's memory or on someone performing physical research beyond public web-based interfaces. Library science types can breathe easy about their jobs for a long while.
Incidentally, if Don Henley is quoting nontrivial amounts of material from the poem, there's a decent chance the liner notes will mention the original source.
posted by mdevore at 3:07 AM on May 29, 2006
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To F. W.
By Edith Wyatt
YOU are my companion
Down the silver road,
Still and many-changing,
Infinitely changing.
You are my companion.
Something sings in lives—
Days of walking on and on,
Deep beyond all singing,
Wonderful past singing.
Wonderful our road,
Long and many-changing,
Infinitely changing.
This, more wonderful—
We are here together,
You and I together,
I am your companion;
You are my companion,
My own, true companion.
Let the road-side fade:
Morning on the mountain-top,
Hours along the valley,
Days of walking on and on,
Pulse away in silence,
In eternal silence.
Let the world all fade,
Break and pass away.
Yet will this remain,
Deep beyond all singing,
My own true companion,
Beautiful past singing:
We were here together—
On this earth together;
I was your companion,
You were my companion,
My own true companion.
posted by crw at 5:43 PM on May 27, 2006