Poems (Hoffman)/The Woman to Her False Lover
THE WOMAN TO HER FALSE LOVER
To-day I mourn above thy new-made grave
As one bereft of hope,
Choke back my sobs and struggle to be brave,
And blind through darkness grope.
As one bereft of hope,
Choke back my sobs and struggle to be brave,
And blind through darkness grope.
I know you live in health and vigor yet
Called by the very name,
Wearing the form and face I'll ne'er forget
Of my dead friend, but you are not the same.
Called by the very name,
Wearing the form and face I'll ne'er forget
Of my dead friend, but you are not the same.
No, not the same; the friend I loved was free
From treachery, and true;
Too noble for deceit and falsity,
And what of you?
From treachery, and true;
Too noble for deceit and falsity,
And what of you?
My friend had faults, but they were human faults
From which none here are free;
Yours are base crimes at which my soul revolts
Instinctively.
From which none here are free;
Yours are base crimes at which my soul revolts
Instinctively.
Oh, to awake from out this dream of madness,
And know that it has only been a dream;
A dark, dark night that fled before the gladness
Of morn's untroubled beam!
And know that it has only been a dream;
A dark, dark night that fled before the gladness
Of morn's untroubled beam!
To look once more into your eyes and listen,
Once more to hear your voice as from the dust;
To see one morning sunbeam dance and glisten
Undarkened by distrust.
Once more to hear your voice as from the dust;
To see one morning sunbeam dance and glisten
Undarkened by distrust.
For oh! your falsity has rendered duller
All Nature's beauties with its stunning pain;
Robbed sky and sea and landscape of their color,
Lowered Nature's music to a minor strain.
All Nature's beauties with its stunning pain;
Robbed sky and sea and landscape of their color,
Lowered Nature's music to a minor strain.
Could you but know one half the bitter trouble
That all my soul in ceaseless anguish grieves,
Could you but see the hopeless chaff and stubble
Of my life's golden sheaves;
That all my soul in ceaseless anguish grieves,
Could you but see the hopeless chaff and stubble
Of my life's golden sheaves;
Could you but see them as I see them daily
A dreadful wreck I strive to rise above;
You nevermore would win to trample gaily
A woman's deathless love.
A dreadful wreck I strive to rise above;
You nevermore would win to trample gaily
A woman's deathless love.
Then come not back with well-learned look and tone,
Caprice or impulse led,
You are a stranger I have never known—
The friend I loved is dead.
Caprice or impulse led,
You are a stranger I have never known—
The friend I loved is dead.
So blind, so ignorant are we,
Like children at their play;
We toss a pebble in the sea
And throw a gem away.
Like children at their play;
We toss a pebble in the sea
And throw a gem away.
We strew bright blossoms in the sun
By careless impulse led,
And when our eager quest is done
Come back to find them dead.
By careless impulse led,
And when our eager quest is done
Come back to find them dead.
Then hold life's precious things with care
And prize them at their worth;
Thou hast ten million stones to spare,
Thy gems are few, oh earth!
And prize them at their worth;
Thou hast ten million stones to spare,
Thy gems are few, oh earth!
There is a lesson often learned
In life's long road too late,
And then upon the Memory burned
With the iron hand of Fate.
In life's long road too late,
And then upon the Memory burned
With the iron hand of Fate.
'Tis this: To early count the cost
And value at their worth,
Before by careless haste are lost
The brightest things of earth.
And value at their worth,
Before by careless haste are lost
The brightest things of earth.