What poisoned pen has written
The words that bar my breath;
What hard, harsh hand has smitten
My soul with death?
“Love, my love” — these the words I read —
“The vision and dream of a life have died.
Hurt to the heart by the words you said,
Angered, stung by a wounded pride,
Mad with the thought that your love was dead —
I have wedded a loveless, unloved bride —
Would I had died instead!”
My heart refuses to understand
The words that burn my brain;
Palsied, stunned by a felling blow
Struck by a cherished hand,
I am all too numb for pain;
Dead to a deathless woe,
Helpless to understand,
Shall I ever feel again?