Poems (Odom)/Broken at Last
BROKEN AT LAST.
You may gather the fragments up Of the heart you have broken at last,Not all your tears in a thousand years, Could ever undo the past.
As easily could your hand To the dull dark night restoreThe light that dies in the flaming skies, When the day's last blush is o'er.
Or back to the riven rose Recall its past perfume,When the leaves are dead, and its drooping head Falls into an early tomb.
I gave you the first, fresh love My girlish bosom knew,In life's sweet spring I crowned you king, With homage deep and true.
You have laid my loyal heart, Beneath your stately tread,Till its love is crushed and its wailing hushed In the halls of the silent dead.
I have wept in my lonely hours Hot tears that were all in vain;Now the fount is dry and I know that I Shall never weep thus again.
The pulse of love you seek To stir in my heart is stilled,You may find a place for the broken vase, But the precious wine is spilled.