Poems (Hale)/"I ask not thy smiles"

by Mary Whitwell Hale

"I ASK NOT THY SMILES."

I ask not thy smiles when thy fortunes are bright,
When wealth sheds around thee its magical light:
Enough will be near thee, in homage to bow,
And twine the gay chaplet to wreathe o'er thy brow.

But when, sad and lonely, thou bowest thy head,
And all the gay train which late worshiped has fled,
Then I would -be with thee, thy anguish to share,
To soothe sad remembrance and weep with thee there.

O! not when earth's splendors shine brightest and best,
Can the force of affection be put to the test;
But the hour of its triumph, its jubilee strain,
Is the night-watch of sorrow, the dirge-note of pain.

Yes! lonely and rayless existence would be,
Were the heart from aflliction's sweet ministry free.
In the midnight of sorrow, Faith's star beams most bright,
And Love o'er the soul sheds its holiest light.

Then give to the many the smiles of those hours,
O'er which have been lavished life's paradise flowers.
Thy moments of gladness their spirits may prize:
I ask for thy anguish, thy tears and thy sighs.