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Carol and Cadence

New poems: MDCCCCII-MDCCCCVII: By John Payne
Payne, John (1842-1916)

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SONGBIRDS.
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THE BOOK OF DAYS AND NIGHTS.
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THE BOOK OF DAYS AND NIGHTS.
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THE BOOK OF BIRDS.
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THE BOOK OF BEASTS.
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LONDON VOICES.
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BALLADS AND ROMANCES.
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SONNETS.
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TIME AND TIDE.
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THE MINSTREL'S BOOK.
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SONGS OF THE MORROW.

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38

35.

I wake and watch by night;
I wend and watch by day;
But never a sail in sight
And never a wight in way.
How is the fashion of this world, with all its work and play,
Perished and passed away!
Winter on hill and plain,
And Winter in my soul!
In vain have I wrought, in vain,
And nothing won but dole.
How hath the labour of my life, for all its high-set goal,
Been wasted, part and whole!
Empty below, above,
And empty is my heart.
What have I had of love,
Except its pain and smart?
How hath all turned for which thou strov'st, poor lackluck that thou art,
To ashes, all and part!
Yet hard's the growing old
For Fortune's favoured one.
Patient's the land of cold
That never knew the sun.
How had it been with thee, if thou thy heart's desire hadst won
And lost, when all was done?
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