| Higginson and Bigelow, comps. American Sonnets. 1891. | | | | The Memory of the Heart | | By Daniel Webster (1782–1852) |
| | | IF stores of dry and learned lore we gain, | |
| We keep them in the memory of the brain; | |
| Names, things, and facts—whate’er we knowledge call, | |
| There is the common ledger for them all; | |
| And images on this cold surface traced | 5 |
| Make slight impressions, and are soon effaced. | |
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| But we ’ve a page more glowing and more bright, | |
| On which our friendship and our love to write; | |
| That these may never from the soul depart, | |
| We trust them to the memory of the heart. | 10 |
| There is no dimming—no effacement here; | |
| Each new pulsation keeps the record clear; | |
| Warm, golden letters, all the tablet fill, | |
| Nor lose their lustre till the heart stands still. | | | | |
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