I cannot say, I will not say,
That he is dead, he is just away.
With a loving look and a wave of his tail,
He's wandered into an unknown land,
And left us dreaming how very fair,
It needs must be, since he lingers there.
And you, oh you, who the wildest yearn,
For the old time step and the glad return,
Think of him still the same I say,
He is not dead, he is just away.