Under a sky so dark and drear—

How on the soul came Care and Pain,

Twin-sisters of the soulless Real,

The race and haggle for the gain

That those who win the world must feel.

The striving to become a part

Of that great sea whose tideings ever

Bears on its waves each manly heart,

That, struggling, droops its pinions never.

And now there is a bridal throng