Betrayed by Aphrodite's wiles,
Oenone's life lost all its smiles,
And tasted sorrow to the lees,
When Paris sailed for sunset seas,
Where reigned the queen of all the isles.
Thy beauty, poignant as a dart,
Drave god-like men to wild despair,
And lit the skies with lurid glare
But oh, thy false and fickle heart,
Helen of Troy!
COW BELLS
Oh, the distant muffled tinkling
Of the cow bells in the vale,
When the dawning stars are twinkling
And the silent dews are sprinkling
Fresh the daisies in the dale.
How they flood the soul with music
Sad as song of nightingale—
Tinkling melodies of magic,
Vague, uncertain, longing, tragic,—
Just the cow bells in the vale!
HOLLYHOCKS
It may not be quite orthodox
To say so in society,
And yet I think the hollyhocks,
Of every known variety,
That bloom and bless the humble home,
Are sisters sweet of charity,—
Fair nuns that wear a beauteous cowl,—
God's priestesses unto the soul
That lives in righteous poverty.