Not Understanding
NOT UNDERSTANDING
Because you do not understand,
I open all my heart to you;
Tell all the things I hope to do,
And all the dreams my heart has planned.
With eyes serene you wisely nod—
Because you do not understand.
Because you do not understand,
I tell you of my love and hate,
My sorrow and my fear of fate;
That which I crave and know is banned.
You smile with wise, unseeing eyes—
Because you do not understand.
Because you do not understand,
I tell you of my grief and care.
It adds no jot to what you bear;
You are too simply, singly planned.
I ease my whole sick soul to you—
Because—you cannot understand!
Ethel Watts Mumford.
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.
The longest-living author of this work died in 1940, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 83 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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