Poems (Hoffman)/Love's Counterfeits

by Martha Lavinia Hoffman

LOVE'S COUNTERFEITS

There's no invention underneath the sun
 So basely counterfeited,
Its similes since first the world begun
 Have half the race outwitted;
Like spurious coins in form and color true
 Put into circulation,
These counterfeits are passing bright and new
 Exact in imitation.

True love is like a coin, changeless and pure,
 Bright from the mint of virtuous affection,
Whose solid worth lies in its gold secure
 Stamped with the soul's reflection;
Though Time may mar with rude and hasty hands
 Its brilliancy and beauty,
Its gold unspoiled beneath the surface stands
 Alloyed with common duty.

False love is like the counterfeiter's coin,
 A criminal deception,
Although a while its face like gold may shine
 To close inspection,
Not long it needs the wear that must ensue
 Its character to settle,
Its gilt departs and leaves exposed to view
 Its worthless metal.

He who treads stealthily his secret dens
 Of fraud and knavery dreaming,
For his own selfish, vicious, lawless ends
 Another's ruin scheming,
He is the type, yet nobler is his art
 Than his who makes to glitter
Base metal for the pure gold of the heart,
 —Love's counterfeiter.