Chapter IX

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?