Poems (Hornblower)/Verses (I heard a song, and it softly fell)
For works with similar titles, see Verses.
VERSES.
I heard a song, and it softly fell
On my ear like one of other years;
And I felt my heart to its cadence swell,
And its sweetness drew some lingering tears.
On my ear like one of other years;
And I felt my heart to its cadence swell,
And its sweetness drew some lingering tears.
Oh! it made me muse on many a one,
Who listened once with me to the strain;
Long, long from all but my memory gone,
The loved, whom I never may see again.
Who listened once with me to the strain;
Long, long from all but my memory gone,
The loved, whom I never may see again.
It made me sad, for it brought the days
When my hopes were bright, and my heart was young;
When my lips were tuned to joy and praise,
And the freshness of life was in my song.
When my hopes were bright, and my heart was young;
When my lips were tuned to joy and praise,
And the freshness of life was in my song.
I listened and wept—yet when it was o'er,
So strangely sweetness mixed with pain,
That though my very heart it tore,
I asked for that mournful strain again.
So strangely sweetness mixed with pain,
That though my very heart it tore,
I asked for that mournful strain again.