Poems (Odom)/Never Again
NEVER AGAIN.
O give me a shining curl, my love,— A curl of your sunbright hair—A shimmering fold of its burnished gold, For my desolate heart to wear!
O give me the rose in your breast, my love,— The rose with its drooping leaves;They are falling apart like the hopes of the heart, That, trusting in woman, believes!
O give me a glance from your eye, my love,— One glance with its olden light;Let me look in your eyes, that are blue as the skies, Ere I leave you forever to-night!
O give me a touch of your hand, my love,— One touch of your hand, I pray,To cling to my own when the bliss I have known, Has vanished forever away!
O give me a parting kiss, my love— One kiss from your warm red lips,To wear upon mine till my soul shall decline In the darkness of death's eclipse!
You have given me all these gifts, my love, To soften my passionate pain,But as long as you live you never can give Me, faith in a woman again,