There is no love like "love's young dream,"
The purest first, and best;
No other love so sweet can seem --
To strangely stir the breast
When Cupid's dart first strikes the heart,
And we awake with sudden start
To find the boy our guest.
Deep in the chambers of the soul
This buried treasure lies,
Our spirits brook its sweet control,
Its influence never dies;
And in the strife
Of after life
Its memory strength supplies.
For many a worn storm-beaten man
Teased on Life's troubled sea,
Who strives to do the best he can,
Yet bows to destiny,
Hath, graven on his heart of hearts,
An image which fresh hope imparts,
Cheering his way
From day to day;
The influence of that love, far from the loved one's sight,
Shall like a guardian-angel guide his steps aright.
Oh! scoff not, then, at "love's young dream,"
Though love may unrequited be;
For to have loved has changed a stream
Of meanness to nobility.
You may have done so at a cost
Which grieves you. --- Hear the poet's call!
"'Tis better to have loved and lost,
Than never to have loved at all."
First published in The Queenslander, 24 May 1884;
and later in
The Queanbeyan Age, 24 October 1884.
Author reference sites: Austlit, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Australian Poetry Library
See also.
The purest first, and best;
No other love so sweet can seem --
To strangely stir the breast
When Cupid's dart first strikes the heart,
And we awake with sudden start
To find the boy our guest.
Deep in the chambers of the soul
This buried treasure lies,
Our spirits brook its sweet control,
Its influence never dies;
And in the strife
Of after life
Its memory strength supplies.
For many a worn storm-beaten man
Teased on Life's troubled sea,
Who strives to do the best he can,
Yet bows to destiny,
Hath, graven on his heart of hearts,
An image which fresh hope imparts,
Cheering his way
From day to day;
The influence of that love, far from the loved one's sight,
Shall like a guardian-angel guide his steps aright.
Oh! scoff not, then, at "love's young dream,"
Though love may unrequited be;
For to have loved has changed a stream
Of meanness to nobility.
You may have done so at a cost
Which grieves you. --- Hear the poet's call!
"'Tis better to have loved and lost,
Than never to have loved at all."
First published in The Queenslander, 24 May 1884;
and later in
The Queanbeyan Age, 24 October 1884.
Author reference sites: Austlit, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Australian Poetry Library
See also.
