First Voice

“Tears he must shed unnumbered;
And he must strive with care,
As strives in war the armed men:
And human woe must bear.

“Must learn that joy is mockery;
That man doth mask his heart;
Must prove the trusted faithless;
And see the loved depart!

“Must feel himself alone, alone;
Must weep when none can see;
Then lock his grief, like treasure up,
For lack of sympathy.

“Must prove all human knowledge
A burden, a deceit;
And many a flattering friendship find
A dark and hollow cheat.

“Well may’st thou weep, fond mother;—
For what can life bequeath,
But tears and sighs unnumbered,
But watching, change, and death!”