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Poems (Allen)/Forgotten

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4385837Poems — ForgottenElizabeth Chase Allen
FORGOTTEN.
IN this dim shadow, whereShe found the quiet which all tired hearts crave,   Now, without grief or care, The wild bees murmur, and the blossoms wave,   And the forgetful air Blows heedlessly across her grassy grave.
  Yet, when she lived on earth, She loved this leafy dell, and knew by name   All things of sylvan birth; Squirrel and bird chirped welcome, when she came;   Yet now, in careless mirth, They frisk, and build, and warble all the same.
  From the great city near, Wherein she toiled through life's incessant quest   For weary year on year, Come the far voices of its deep unrest   To touch her dead, deaf ear, And surge unechoed o'er her pulseless breast.
  The hearts which clung to her Have sought out other shrines, as all hearts must,   When Time, the comforter, Has worn their grief out, and replaced their trust;   Not even neglect can stir This little handful of forgotten dust.
  Grass waves, and insects hum, And then the snow blows bitterly across;   Strange footsteps go and come, Breaking the dew-drops on the starry moss;   She lieth, still and dumb, Counting no longer either gain or loss.
  Ah, well,—'t is better so; Let the dust deepen as the years increase;   Of her who sleeps below Let the name perish, and the memory cease,   Since she has come to know That which through life she vainly prayed for,—Peace!