"And O, I know that I shall return,
But let me lie first mid the unfeeling fern;
"For there is a flame that has blown too near,
And there is a name that has grown too dear,
And there is a fear"....
And to the still hills and cool earth and far sky I made moan,
"The heart in my bosom is not my own!
"O would I were free as the wind on wing;
Love is a terrible thing!"
Grace Fallow Norton [1876-
THE BALLAD OF THE ANGEL
"Who is it knocking in the night,
That fain would enter in?"
"The ghost of Lost Delight am I,
The sin you would not sin,
Who comes to look in your two eyes
And see what might have been."
"Oh, long ago and long ago
I cast you forth," he said,
"For that your eyes were all too blue,
Your laughing mouth too red,
And my torn soul was tangled in
The tresses of your head."
"Now mind you with what bitter words
You cast me forth from you?"
"I bade you back to that fair Hell
From whence your breath you drew,
And with great blows I broke my heart
Lest it might follow too.