Caret
Something wanting in this world—
What is it? To each and all
Different desires come,
Tides of longing rise and fall.
Hopes of youth still unfulfilled,
Homes that have an empty chair,
Gulfs that gape and pits that balk;
Something wanting everywhere.
Can we fill the gap with love,
Forge the missing link with gold?
Let the heart be ne'er so warm,
Still one portion blank and cold.
Broken chords are but our share;
Harmony with discord blends;
Fate's dull web but coarsest cloth,
Patched with finer odds and ends.
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published in 1881, before the cutoff of January 1, 1929.
The longest-living author of this work died in 1936, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 87 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
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