She Gathered At Her Slender Waist The Beauteous Robe She Wore; Its Folds A Golden Belt Embraced, One Rose-Hued Gem It Bore. The Girdle Shrank; Its Lessening Round Still Kept The Shining Gem, But Now Her Flowing Locks It Bound, A Lustrous Diadem. And Narrower Still The Circlet Grew; Behold! A Glittering Band, Its Roseate Diamond Set Anew, Her Neck'S White Column Spanned. Suns Rise And Set; The Straining Clasp The Shortened Links Resist, Yet Flashes In A Bracelet'S Grasp The Diamond, On Her Wrist. At Length, The Round Of Changes Past The Thieving Years Could Bring, The Jewel, Glittering To The Last, Still Sparkles In A Ring. So, Link By Link, Our Friendships Part, So Loosen, Break, And Fall, A Narrowing Zone; The Loving Heart Lives Changeless Through Them All.