 | [Poems by Payne in] John Howard Payne ... his life and writings |  |
331
THE WORLD.
I.
Oh! no! I have no wish to tryThose heartless mockeries of joy
Whose charm is like the serpent's eye,
Which only dazzles to destroy!
Ne'er let me be among the mad—
Nay, worse,—the guilty million hurl'd,—
I never yet have known the bad—
I never yet have known the world!
II.
Can the world aught, for what is thisSeclusion I should lose, bestow?
Our little home is full of bliss,
But the great world is full of woe!
My humble heart, like yonder vines
Around our lowly cottage curl'd,
With all I here have known, entwines,—
And here, oh, here shall be my world.
| [Poems by Payne in] John Howard Payne ... his life and writings | |