 | Musa Verticordia |  |
98
A LITTLE SEQUENCE
I.
No wonder you so oft have wept;
For I was born unblest:
Yet wounded creature never crept
To you but found a rest;
For I was born unblest:
Yet wounded creature never crept
To you but found a rest;
To you the patient hound's mild eyes
Are turned in perfect trust,
And into yours, with sure surmise,
The baby's hand is thrust;
Are turned in perfect trust,
And into yours, with sure surmise,
The baby's hand is thrust;
The little birds make you their friend,
The flowers in your sweet hand
Arrange themselves, and graceful bend,
As if they understand.
The flowers in your sweet hand
99
As if they understand.
And when these die,—the household pet,—
The babe (though not your own),—
Yes, or the very flowers,—you fret
To fly where they have flown.
The babe (though not your own),—
Yes, or the very flowers,—you fret
To fly where they have flown.
II.
I can never be your hero again,
As I was when first we met;
I know I have caused you too much pain,
And the wounds are smarting yet.
As I was when first we met;
I know I have caused you too much pain,
And the wounds are smarting yet.
I know that the sun is not of gold
Nor the moon of silvery sheen
So bright as they were in the days of old,
When we were their King and Queen;
Nor the moon of silvery sheen
100
When we were their King and Queen;
Then heaven was ours, and the earth and the sea,—
Eternity, Time, and Fate;
There was nothing wanting to you or me,
When we entered on Love's estate.
Eternity, Time, and Fate;
There was nothing wanting to you or me,
When we entered on Love's estate.
Only the world and the ways of men
We resigned for the Lover's Land;
And God poured into our deep hearts then
Joy, with his own right hand.
We resigned for the Lover's Land;
And God poured into our deep hearts then
Joy, with his own right hand.
III.
Forgive!
And tell me that sweet tale,
How you and I one day may live
In some diviner vale.
And tell me that sweet tale,
101
In some diviner vale.
In some diviner vale, dear child,
Than this in which we lie
And watch the monstrous mountains piled
And clouded into sky.
Than this in which we lie
And watch the monstrous mountains piled
And clouded into sky.
Yet even there, far out of reach
Are peaks we cannot scale,
For God has something still to teach
In that diviner vale.
Are peaks we cannot scale,
For God has something still to teach
In that diviner vale.
IV.
Of all the tears that men are born to shed
More than my share has fallen to my lot;
And often have I wished that I were dead,
Because I fancied that you loved me not.
More than my share has fallen to my lot;
102
Because I fancied that you loved me not.
But though that fear for ever passed away,
Because you laid your life down at my feet,
Still must I weep; for how can he be gay,
Who ever fancied that you loved not, Sweet?
Because you laid your life down at my feet,
Still must I weep; for how can he be gay,
Who ever fancied that you loved not, Sweet?
Yet now my tears flow backward; and behold,
From where we stand upon Time's latest hill,
Full sunshine lies before us; let me fold
Your hand in mine and bravely journey still.
From where we stand upon Time's latest hill,
Full sunshine lies before us; let me fold
Your hand in mine and bravely journey still.
| Musa Verticordia | |