Take this kiss upon the brow And in parting from you now Thus much let me avow Yet if hope has flown away In a night or in a day And all that we see or seem, Is but a dream within a dream As I stand mid the roar On a surf tormented shore I hold within my hand Grains of the golden sand How they creep Through my fingers to the deep Oh God! Can I not grasp Them with a tighter clasp? O god! Can I not save One from the pitiless wave? Is all, is all that we see or seem But a dream within a dream? And all that we see or seem, Is but a dream within a dream As I stand mid the roar On a surf tormented shore I hold within my hand Grains of the golden sand How they creep Through my fingers to the deep