Poems (Charlotte Allen)/The Tear Sigh and Smile

by Charlotte Allen

THE TEAR, SIGH, AND SMILE.

I saw a tear within thine eye,
 It trembled 'neath the lid,
Till fuller, larger, it became,
 Then dropped at feeling's bid.

No word was spoken, all was still,
 I watched the pearl drops rise,
And vainly wished I could define
 The language of thine eyes.

A sigh arose from sorrow's fount,
 (Sighs are a great relief;)
Those glist'ning gems then passed away,
 Thy agony was brief.

A smile soon played upon thy brow,
 The sunshine of the heart;
But still a trace of grief was there,
 It did not all depart.

Thus tears and sighs with smiles unite,
 To breathe the soul's revealing;
Those trio sisters, feeling's band,
 Know not the art—concealing.