PARTED.

She said she forgave me;
I looked in her eyes,
And knew that her words were true;
For one blissful moment,
I felt my hopes rise,
And sought I, my vows to renew.

But, something I missed,
In her calm, steady, gaze,
Caused the love words to die, e'er they came;
For, though her kind heart,
So freely forgave,
Still, I knew that it was not the same.

For, once, that pure heart,
Was all, but my own;
Well I knew, how it quickened its beat,
How those sweet, gentle, eyes,
With a soft luster, shone,
At the sound of my coming feet.

But little I valued
The pearl I had found,
And carelessly cast it away,
For one, whose gay laugh
Proved a meaningless sound,
And whose heart was all vanity.

And when I returned,
For I'd learned her true worth,
As I sadly gazed in her eyes,
I knew that her love
Had died at its birth,
I had lost forever, my prize.


Published in Songs from the Wayside, 1908