Poems (Freston)/A Broken Promise
A BROKEN PROMISE
See what you've done, mon cher ami!
This porcelain, fine and rare,
You have shattered into fragments,
Heedless that it was fair.
This porcelain, fine and rare,
You have shattered into fragments,
Heedless that it was fair.
Can you e'er collect the pieces
Again, and fit them true?
Never! though countless ages
Were given unto you.
Again, and fit them true?
Never! though countless ages
Were given unto you.
No chemist, no, nor alchemist,
That bent alembic o'er,
Hath ever found a cement sure
To make it as before.
That bent alembic o'er,
Hath ever found a cement sure
To make it as before.
This precious vase of promise
With the wine of faith was filled,
And when you broke it, oh, my friend!
That wine was rudely spilled.
With the wine of faith was filled,
And when you broke it, oh, my friend!
That wine was rudely spilled.
A little thing? Ah, true indeed!
A trifle dropped by Fate!
But life's small things are its sweet things,
And their power is often great.
A trifle dropped by Fate!
But life's small things are its sweet things,
And their power is often great.
They are stars to light the firmament
Of Hope, when night is near,
They are flowers to brighten pathways
That would otherwise be drear.
Of Hope, when night is near,
They are flowers to brighten pathways
That would otherwise be drear.