Phœbe Cary

“ And while the lightly-heaving tides
Are scarcely rippled by the breeze—
Thou, who, with cheek of beauty pale,
Seem’st o’er some hidden grief to pine,
If thou wilt listen to a tale
Of sorrow, it may lighten thine. ”

“ That night I drank a draught more sweet
Than water from the living rills.
It is a harder task to win
The feet at first, from right astray;
Yet if but once we yield to sin,
How easy is the downward way! ”

“ The hoarded agony of years
Broke forth, and then he ceased to weep:
But when he raised his eyes again,
I saw, what was unseen till now,
That death, in character to plain,
Was written on that pallid brow.
Three little days; and then we laid
That wreck of manhood and of pride
Beneath the gloomy cypress shade,
To slumber with his stricken bride.
This work was published before January 1, 1929, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago. ”