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Ships that pass in the night, and speak each other in passing, Only a signal shown and a distant voice in the darkness; So on the ocean of life we pass and speak one another, Only a look and a voice, then darkness again and a silence.

Ships that pass in the night, and speak each other in passing, Only a signal shown and a distant voice in the darkness; So on the ocean of life we pass and speak one another, Only a look and a voice, then darkness again and a silence.

Approximate author period: c. 1844 AD · industrial

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Attribution & collection notes
Author or tradition
Henry W. Longfellow
Attribution: attributed
Country attributed
Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin.
Historical period
Approximate author period: c. 1844 AD · industrial
author lifetime midpoint (1807–1882)
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken.
Recorded source
My Commonplace Book (third English edition,1921) (1921 AD)

Page 280 · printed citation: Longfellow (Tales of a Wayside Inn). · compiler notes excluded

A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.