The Recompense.
The King once sent His messenger to me
Charged with a message from the court above.
“Ask what thou wilt and it shall granted be.”
And my first prayer was, “Angel! Give me love.”
The angel smiled on me, then gently sighed,
“My child! To such as thee, Love bringeth woe.”
But still I prayed and would not be denied,
Until at last he murmured. “Be it so,”
And held Love’s chalice to my eager lips,
But scarcely had I touched its golden rim
When all life’s brightness suffered swift eclipse
And sun and stars unto my eyes grew dim.
And on my lips Love’s sweetness turned to rue.
“Oh, Angel!” then I cried, with sobbing breath,
“I asked for Love, Life’s sweetest gift, and you
Have mocked me with the bitterness of Death.”
The angel smiled once more, then said, “Not so,
The sweetness of Love’s wine is not for all.
To some it bringeth bliss, to others woe;
Upon some lips its honey turns to gall.
“But fullest recompense awaits above,
So be thou comforted, my child, and know
That God reserves His richest meed of Love
For those who miss its sweetness here below.”
