 | [Poems by Cary in] The poems of Alice and Phoebe Cary with introduction and notes |  |
431
THE RETROSPECT.
As one who sees life's hopes have end,
And cannot hush the bitter cry,
Thou weep'st for that lost vale, my friend,
Where childhood's pleasant places lie;
And looking down the sloping track
Where now our lonesome steps are told,
Wouldst softly roll the seasons back,
And leave us children as of old.
And cannot hush the bitter cry,
Thou weep'st for that lost vale, my friend,
Where childhood's pleasant places lie;
And looking down the sloping track
Where now our lonesome steps are told,
Wouldst softly roll the seasons back,
And leave us children as of old.
Nay, weave sweet fancies as you will,
Yet what is childish happiness
To such great rapture as can fill
The heart of womanhood with bliss?
And though the trials which years must bring
Have come, and left thee what thou art,
Think what a great and wondrous thing
Is victory o'er the human heart!
Yet what is childish happiness
To such great rapture as can fill
The heart of womanhood with bliss?
And though the trials which years must bring
Have come, and left thee what thou art,
Think what a great and wondrous thing
Is victory o'er the human heart!
Life's sparkling wine for us is dim,
Only the bitter drops remain;
Yet for the brightness on the brim,
Who would not drink the draught of pain?
And not in even ways, my friend,
Attains the soul to regions higher;
If step by step our feet ascend,
Their path must be a path of fire!
Only the bitter drops remain;
Yet for the brightness on the brim,
Who would not drink the draught of pain?
And not in even ways, my friend,
Attains the soul to regions higher;
If step by step our feet ascend,
Their path must be a path of fire!
| [Poems by Cary in] The poems of Alice and Phoebe Cary with introduction and notes | |