University of Virginia Library

CROWNS OF SORROW.

To sleep and dream of love,
And miss it on the morrow,
To find none here and none above—
This is a crown of sorrow.
To live and lack an aim,
And others' ends to borrow,
To die and leave no lingering name—
This is a crown of sorrow.
To want a settled hope,
And fear the coming morrow,
To have no fitting field and scope—
This is a crown of sorrow.
To forfeit honest fame,
And beggar's arts to borrow,
To lose the latest touch of shame—
This is a crown of sorrow.
To be and not to live,
To waste the day and morrow,
To take from all and never give—
This is a crown of sorrow.
To break a trusting heart,
To feign the love you borrow—
This is the deepest deadliest smart,
The crown of crowns of sorrow!