Poems (Charlotte Allen)/Life's Vicissitudes

by Charlotte Allen

LIFE'S VICISSITUDES.

I never had a favorite flower,
 But it was sure to die;
Although I nursed it carefully,
 And saw no reason why.

I never had a pleasing hope,
 But it was chased away;
And though I tried to lure it back,
 Fate would not let it stay.

I never yet have formed a plan,
 But fortune frowned upon it;
And never sought a cherished thing,
 But some one else had won it.

I never had a valued friend,
 But we were doomed to part;
Though disappointment well may chill,
 It shall not break my heart.

Oh! it is thus with every thing
 I prize and wish to keep;
No sooner do I love it well,
 Than I its loss must weep.

I never, now, will build again
 Another earthly shrine;
And though my fondest hopes have fled,
 I will not e'er repine.

For He who guides and governs all,
 Hath thus ordained my fate;
Though passing clouds may dim my path,
 In time they 'll dissipate.