104
POEMS.
"I love my love," the low song said,
Because his noble, kingly head
Is bowed, while, with most patient tread,
He walks hard paths he did not choose,
Smiling where other men would grieve,
Heart-glad if other men receive
Their fill of joys which he must lose.
Because his noble, kingly head
Is bowed, while, with most patient tread,
He walks hard paths he did not choose,
Smiling where other men would grieve,
Heart-glad if other men receive
Their fill of joys which he must lose.
"I see each failure he must make,
Each step he cannot but mistake;
And, weeping for his soul's dear sake,
I set my faith with love's own seal,—
Token of all which he might be,
Token of all he is to me,
As God and my own heart reveal,
Each step he cannot but mistake;
And, weeping for his soul's dear sake,
I set my faith with love's own seal,—
Token of all which he might be,
Token of all he is to me,
As God and my own heart reveal,
"And oh! I love my love again,
With love which is as strong as pain,
Because I know that by the chain
Of beauty's bond I cannot bind;
The sweetest things which make men's bliss,
In loving me, my love must miss,
In loving me, he cannot find.
With love which is as strong as pain,
Because I know that by the chain
Of beauty's bond I cannot bind;
The sweetest things which make men's bliss,
In loving me, my love must miss,
In loving me, he cannot find.
"So, fearing lest I may not feed
Always his utmost want and need,
In trust for her who can succeed
Where I must fail, his love's estate
I solemn hold. Its rightful heir,
A woman younger and more fair,
Loving my love, I bide and wait."
Always his utmost want and need,
In trust for her who can succeed
Where I must fail, his love's estate
I solemn hold. Its rightful heir,
A woman younger and more fair,
Loving my love, I bide and wait."
