University of Virginia Library


87

An April Grief

With little breast that wildly heaved,
With streaming eyes and hair uncurled,
She sat and sobbed—as if she grieved
For all the woes of all the world.
A sudden pause! She raised her head
In puzzled thought, and still a tear
Hung, like a dewdrop, as she said:
“Why was I crying, mamma dear?”
“Because I took poor Pussy's part.”
Then all the woes beneath the skies
Once more convulsed that little heart
And rained from those despairing eyes!

88

Oh, never in the coming years,
My darling, may it be your lot
To know a grief too deep for tears,
Or one that cannot be forgot!