WE MET.
I
We met—'twas in a crowd—and I thought he would shun me;
He came—I could not breathe, for his eye was upon me;
He spoke—his words were cold, and his smile was unalter'd;
I knew how much he felt, for his deep-toned voice falter'd.
I wore my bridal robe, and I rivall'd its whiteness.
Bright gems were in my hair, how I hated their brightness;
He called me by my name, as the bride of another—
Oh, thou hast been the cause of this anguish, my mother!
II
And once again we met, and a fair girl was near him:
He smiled, and whispered low—as I once used to hear him.
She leant upon his arm—once 'twas mine, and mine only—
I wept, for I deserved to feel wretched and lonely.
And she will be his bride! at the altar he'll give her
The love that was too pure for a heartless deceiver.
The world may think me gay, for my feelings I smother;
Oh, thou hast been the cause of this anguish, my mother!
