CUERVO - Biblioteca Nacional de Colombia

THE LOST MISTRESS
2
¥le shall march prospering,-not thro' his presence;
Songs may inspirit uS,-not from his lyre;
235
Deeds will be done,-while he boasts bis quiescence,
Still bidding crouch whom the rest bade aspire :
Blot out his name, then,-record one lost soul more,
One task more declined, one more footpath untrod,
One more triumph for devils, and sorrow for angels,
One wrong more to man, one more insult to God 1
Life's night begins: let him never come back to us 1
There would be doubt, hesitation and pain,
Forced praise on our part-the glimmer of twilight,
Never glad confident morning again 1
Best fight on well, for we taught him,-strike gallantly,
Aim at our heart ere we pierce through his own;
Then let him receive the new knowledge and wait us,
Pardoned in Heaven, the first by the throne!
XXIII
THE LOST MISTRESS
1
ALL'S over, then-does truth sound bitter
As one at first believes?
Hark, 'tis the sparrows' good-night twitter
About your cottage eaves 1
2
And the leaf-buds on the vine are woolly,
I noticed that, to-day;
One day more bursts them open fully
- You know the red turns gray.
3
To-morrow we meet tbe same tben, dearest?
May I take your hand in mine?
Mere friends are \Ye,-well, friends the merest
Keep much that I'll resign:
4
For each glance of that eye so bright and black,
Though I keep with heart's endeavour,­
Your voice, when you wish lhe snowdrops back,
Though it stays in my soul for ever 1-
©Biblioteca Nacional de Colombia