Nothing Is Lost - Noel Coward

[Larry Robinson]

Nothing Is Lost

Deep in our sub-conscious, we are told 
Lie all our memories, lie all the notes 
Of all the music we have ever heard 
And all the phrases those we love have spoken,
Sorrows and losses time has since consoled.
Family jokes, outmoded anecdotes 
each sentimental souvenir and token 
Everything seen, experienced, each word 
Addressed to us in infancy, before
Before we could even know or understand
The implications of our wonderland.
There they all are, the legendary lies
The birthday treats, the sights, the sounds, the tears

Forgotten debris of forgotten years 
Waiting to be recalled, waiting to rise
Before our world dissolves before our eyes
Waiting for some small, intimate reminder,
A word, a tune, a known familiar sent
An echo from the past when, innocent 
We looked upon the present with delight 
And doubted not the future would be kinder 
And never knew the loneliness of night 

	- Noel Coward