 | Impressions of Italy and Other Poems |  |
128
LOVE AND PRIDE.
Farewell, then, oh! Farewell to thee,
I own that thou wert dear to me;
But Love shall never bend me down,
An abject, slavish mood to own!
I own that thou wert dear to me;
But Love shall never bend me down,
An abject, slavish mood to own!
Since thou canst love me not—alas!
As I would—must be loved—I pass
With step of firm decision on,
And say “'tis best to mourn alone.”
As I would—must be loved—I pass
With step of firm decision on,
And say “'tis best to mourn alone.”
For all on this Earth mourners are—
And what is Love but a deep share
In all the shadowing ills that fall
On Mortals—bound by care's strict thrall?
And what is Love but a deep share
In all the shadowing ills that fall
On Mortals—bound by care's strict thrall?
129
Farewell, then—now farewell to thee,
Dear—ah! too dear wert thou to me;
For all my Courage and my Pride
But urged to this—then drooped and died!
Dear—ah! too dear wert thou to me;
For all my Courage and my Pride
But urged to this—then drooped and died!
But urged to this last proud farewell—
And now must I for ever dwell—
Since these forsake me and depart—
With mine own burning, breaking heart!
And now must I for ever dwell—
Since these forsake me and depart—
With mine own burning, breaking heart!
| Impressions of Italy and Other Poems | |