I took the only truth I know
And let it go, out on the bay;
An autumn day, in years gone by —
I still cannot say why.

I took that truth, my only one,
And bade it run, or swim, or fly
To satisfy, or ratify
Some need I had for alibi —

But truth is fleeting in its grasp,
The heart we hold, the hand we clasp,
We watch just drift off in their time,
A listless-gestured pantomime —

I took the only the truth I had
Of son and dad, of dad and son,
My only one, and let it go:
But why, I do not really
Know