Page:The Works of Lord Byron (ed. Coleridge, Prothero) - Volume 1.djvu/312

2.

But now, like me, too well thou know'st^[1]
What trifles oft the heart recall;
And those who once have loved the most
Too soon forget they lov'd at all.^[2]

3.

And such the change the heart displays,
So frail is early friendship's reign,^[3]
A month's brief lapse, perhaps a day's,
Will view thy mind estrang'd again.^[4]

4.

If so, it never shall be mine
To mourn the loss of such a heart;
The fault was Nature's fault, not thine,
Which made thee fickle as thou art.

5.

As rolls the Ocean's changing tide,
So human feelings ebb and flow;
And who would in a breast confide
Where stormy passions ever glow?

1. And yet like me.—[MS. L.]
2. Forget they ever.—[MS. L, Imit. and Transl., p. 185.]
3. So short.—[MS. L.]

4. ... a day
   Will send my friendship back again.—[MS. L.]