Page:Poems Clark.djvu/45

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FAITHFULNESS
He came when the sweet spring blossoms
Embroidered the robes of May,
And the glint of a softer sunshine
Enraptured and gladdened my way;
He whispered the oft-told story,
So old, and yet ever so new,
And while he asked me to trust him,
Said he would be faithful and true.

I thought no roses so fragrant
As the ones that bloomed that June,
'Twas the golden year of my lifetime,
But it faded all too soon,
For ere the gorgeous beauty
Of the autumn quite had past,
We said our farewell—alas! dear heart,
I little thought 'twas our last.

Afar where Italia's sunsets
Gild skies of the daintiest blue,
He went with the proud ambition
His glorious work to do;
He said he would come to claim me,
And I, oh! I still can but trust,
I cannot believe him faithless,
Although they tell me I must.

I wear his ring on my finger,
The pledge of his troth to me,—
The ring his proud old father brought
From over the rolling sea.
They say the gems and the setting
Ill match my humble dress—
What was it you were saying,—
God has his own time to bless?

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