SUNS rise and set, stars flash and darken:

To-day I stand alone and hearken

Unto this counsel, old and wise:

“As shadows still we flee.” The blossom

May hide the rare fruit in its bosom,

But in the core the canker lies.

II.

To-day I stand alone and listen—

While on my cheek the teardrops glisten

And a strange blindness veils my sight,