When toasts are given to absent friends
And thoughts bridge years so quickly
Down many a cheek a tear descends
And many a heart beats fondly

From memory's store come crowding in
Those we have loved and still hold dear
Old friends and sweethearts, kith and kin
We seem to feel their presence near

But they are only spirit things
Those folk we feel around us still
Year follows year, and each one brings
A vacant place, we cannot fill

Soon, we too must join that silent host
No more to stand around the laden dinner board
When "Absent Friends" that old traditional toast
Strikes one more time a sweet nostalgic chord