 | Areytos or songs and ballads of the South |  |
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OH, LOVELY WERE ONCE HER EYES.
I.
Oh, lovely were once her eyes, but griefTheir light hath now o'erclouded;
And her lips were sweet, like the budding leaf,
Though now their bloom be shrouded—
For in her heart a malady,
Like the canker worm in the rose,
Preys ever there, unceasingly,
And gives her no repose.
II.
It is sad to think, in a few short hours,We shall look on her no longer,
For the glance gives sign of the failing powers,
And the pang grows hourly stronger;
We shall lose the balm of her budding breath,
We shall hear her voice no more;
We shall see those sweet eyes sealed in death,
That we once could so adore.
III.
Yet shall I not weep, though losing all,For many long days, I so have loved;
The tear that from mine eyes would fall,
My thought has well reproved:
For hers has been a dooméd life,
And those who love her well, should pray
That she may quickly lose the strife,
Which has eaten her heart away.
| Areytos or songs and ballads of the South | |