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THREE STUDIES FOR A PORTRAIT
1
OLD TALES
Her voice within the darkened room
Tells on—old jests and tragedies
And little follies of her kin
And futile old nobilities:
Tells on—old jests and tragedies
And little follies of her kin
And futile old nobilities:
". . . If they had only done," she tells,
"The thing that others said was wise
There would have been no death that year . . ."
How fast her tiny shuttle flies!
"The thing that others said was wise
There would have been no death that year . . ."
How fast her tiny shuttle flies!
The stiff old pictures on the wall,
Who were those passionate girls and men
So sure of Youth and Righteousness,
Look dully on the Now from Then;
Who were those passionate girls and men
So sure of Youth and Righteousness,
Look dully on the Now from Then;
And I look past her out the glass
Where young Today goes to and fro . . .
But all she sees was past a change
A changeless fifty years ago.
Where young Today goes to and fro . . .
But all she sees was past a change
A changeless fifty years ago.
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