The Fall of the Leaf :: :: University of Virginia Library

Ye heartless many!—Ye, who know so well
To use th' intriguing faculties;—and who,
Remorseless, poison all the purer springs
Of mental youth, and ridicule the soul;
As insects, perforating buds of flowers,
Steal their sweet juice, and wither them away;—
Why do ye smile to see th' enthusiast weep?
And why to see the fond enthusiast gaze,
With mournful silence, on the chequer'd light,
That beams, through vi'lets, on the sacred grave?
Ye are unholy!—Hasten to your homes,
That friendless, cheerless, speak the heartless man.
Away!—ye are unholy.—Not a tear
Would swell your eye-lids, were the world to die;
So that yourselves might live.—In vain for you,
The Catholic virgin gazes on the light,
Which gilds her rosary of beads;—in vain
Tears,—melting tears,—denote a broken heart;
While sighs,—responsive to her evening hymn,—
Steal through the cloisters of her convent grey.