 | Collected poems of Thomas Hardy |  |
FIRST OR LAST
(SONG)
If grief come early
Joy comes late,
If joy come early
Grief will wait;
Aye, my dear and tender!
Joy comes late,
If joy come early
Grief will wait;
Aye, my dear and tender!
617
Wise ones joy them early
While the cheeks are red,
Banish grief till surly
Time has dulled their dread.
While the cheeks are red,
Banish grief till surly
Time has dulled their dread.
And joy being ours
Ere youth has flown,
The later hours
May find us gone;
Aye, my dear and tender!
Ere youth has flown,
The later hours
May find us gone;
Aye, my dear and tender!
| Collected poems of Thomas Hardy | |