 | Lyrical and other poems |  |
113
I DO NOT ASK THY TEAR.
I do not ask thy tear,
I would not have thee sigh,
I could not deem the one sincere,
And feel the last would fly;
For love will court the sun alone,
He seeks no faded bow'rs,
When once life's smiling ray has flown,
He flies to fresher flow'rs.
Then give me not the tear
That starts at every call,
If not the heart's, 'tis not sincere,
And better not to fall.
I would not have thee sigh,
I could not deem the one sincere,
And feel the last would fly;
For love will court the sun alone,
He seeks no faded bow'rs,
When once life's smiling ray has flown,
He flies to fresher flow'rs.
Then give me not the tear
That starts at every call,
If not the heart's, 'tis not sincere,
And better not to fall.
The bee will court no bud
That can afford no sweet,
But seeks on airy wing the wood,
Where honey clasps its feet.
And so will love deny the smile,
Where there is no return;
Still roving where he may beguile
The truth, he must not learn.
I do not ask thy tear,
I would not have thee sigh,
My heart no fellowship could share,
With love that still must fly!
That can afford no sweet,
But seeks on airy wing the wood,
Where honey clasps its feet.
And so will love deny the smile,
Where there is no return;
Still roving where he may beguile
The truth, he must not learn.
I do not ask thy tear,
I would not have thee sigh,
My heart no fellowship could share,
With love that still must fly!
I heard the song at morn,
The bird at eve had fled;
I felt at early light the thorn,
Whose bud at eve was dead:
I sunk beneath a ray,
That could not be denied,
Yet saw that ray at eve decay,
And still I never sigh'd:
I do not seek thy sigh—
The smile that all may share,
May pass my bosom heedless by—
And harmless falls thy tear.
The bird at eve had fled;
I felt at early light the thorn,
114
I sunk beneath a ray,
That could not be denied,
Yet saw that ray at eve decay,
And still I never sigh'd:
I do not seek thy sigh—
The smile that all may share,
May pass my bosom heedless by—
And harmless falls thy tear.
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