Poems (Sharpless)/The Two Smiles
THE TWO SMILES
She smileth as the little children do:
So full of happiness, so free from thought,
That the bright smile forth-springeth, over-fraught
With all the bliss of love while yet 'tis new.
Years over-roll her, and their lessons teach
Of patience, sorrow, and yet bitterer woe—
Of hours that every human heart must know,
Heavy with agony beyond our speech;
And passionate longings deepen to content,
So she submitteth where she cannot rule,
An humble scholar in Life's rigid school;
She hath still kept one smile where'er she went,
Not the bright glory of that earlier ray,
But a glad sunset to a changeful day.
So full of happiness, so free from thought,
That the bright smile forth-springeth, over-fraught
With all the bliss of love while yet 'tis new.
Years over-roll her, and their lessons teach
Of patience, sorrow, and yet bitterer woe—
Of hours that every human heart must know,
Heavy with agony beyond our speech;
And passionate longings deepen to content,
So she submitteth where she cannot rule,
An humble scholar in Life's rigid school;
She hath still kept one smile where'er she went,
Not the bright glory of that earlier ray,
But a glad sunset to a changeful day.