 | [Poems by Cary in] The poems of Alice and Phoebe Cary with introduction and notes |  |
A PSALM OF LIFE.
WHAT THE HEART OF THE YOUNG WOMAN SAID TO THE OLD MAID.
Tell me not, in idle jingle,
Marriage is an empty dream,
For the girl is dead that 's single,
And things are not what they seem.
Marriage is an empty dream,
For the girl is dead that 's single,
And things are not what they seem.
Married life is real, earnest;
Single blessedness a fib;
Taken from man, to man returnest,
Has been spoken of the rib.
Single blessedness a fib;
Taken from man, to man returnest,
Has been spoken of the rib.
Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Nearer brings the wedding-day.
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Nearer brings the wedding-day.
Life is long, and youth is fleeting,
And our hearts, if there we search,
Still like steady drums are beating
Anxious marches to the church.
And our hearts, if there we search,
Still like steady drums are beating
Anxious marches to the church.
480
In the world's broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a woman, be a wife!
In the bivouac of life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a woman, be a wife!
Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act,—act in the living Present;
Heart within, and Man ahead!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act,—act in the living Present;
Heart within, and Man ahead!
Lives of married folks remind us
We can live our lives as well,
And, departing, leave behind us
Such examples as will tell;—
We can live our lives as well,
And, departing, leave behind us
Such examples as will tell;—
Such examples, that another,
Sailing far from Hymen's port,
A forlorn, unmarried brother,
Seeing, shall take heart, and court.
Sailing far from Hymen's port,
A forlorn, unmarried brother,
Seeing, shall take heart, and court.
Let us then be up and doing,
With the heart and head begin;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor, and to win!
With the heart and head begin;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor, and to win!
| [Poems by Cary in] The poems of Alice and Phoebe Cary with introduction and notes | |