Poems (Rowe)/To ——— (To life once given there shall be no end)

by Louise Jopling Rowe

For works with similar titles, see To —.

TO ———

TO life once given there shall be no end,
And in my constant heart Love lives, dear friend;
There, in an inner chamber, sweet and fair
It grows, and thrives in my most tender care.

Sometimes I ope the door, with heartbeats fast,
And gaze upon the treasures of the past,
Which all are mine; which none can take away,
And in that well loved place, I ling'ring stay.

I stay, and smiling view the past again,
That past so full of joy, and bitter pain;
The pain has flown, and only joy remains,
So sings my heart a song of glad refrains.

Forgotten are the wrongs of love I bore,
And bitter thoughts are banished from my store;
The love note of your voice, your tender eyes,
Are all my world—since I am sadly wise.

I wonder, if in retrospect you know
How true I was, how strong my heart's full flow;
If so, do you not sometimes wish them back,
Those dear delights of which we had no lack?