BY THE DEAD.
O Poverty! till now I never knew
The meaning of the word! What lack is here!
O pale mask of a soul, great, good and true!
O mocking semblance stretched upon a bier!
The meaning of the word! What lack is here!
O pale mask of a soul, great, good and true!
O mocking semblance stretched upon a bier!
Each atom of this devastated face
Was so instinct with power, with warmth and light;
What desert is so desolate! No grace
Is left, no gleam, no change, no day, no night.
Was so instinct with power, with warmth and light;
What desert is so desolate! No grace
Is left, no gleam, no change, no day, no night.
Where is the key that locked these gates of speech,
Once beautiful, where thought stood sentinel,
Where sweetness sat, where wisdom passed, to teach
Our weakness strength, our homage to compel?
Once beautiful, where thought stood sentinel,
Where sweetness sat, where wisdom passed, to teach
Our weakness strength, our homage to compel?
