Heart Winter
I know that Spring will soon be here again,
Her vital breath pervades the morning air;
Old Winter soon shall end his ruthless reign,
And all the world, as ever, shall be fair:
But what avails the coming of the Spring?
Can she the Winter's ravages repay?
What though the sun shall garnish everything,
And Summer robe the world in raiment gay?
Still in my heart shall Winter reign supreme,
Bleak winds of woe shall wail about my soul;
Fast lock'd in ice shall be joy's laughing stream,
And I shall huddle o'er hope's meagre coal!
For Death has hid thy glory from my sight,
Who wert my only source of warmth and light!
~~
James Lewis Milligan (1876-1961)
from Songs in Time's Despite, 1910
[Poem is in the public domain in Canada and the United States]
James Lewis Milligan biography
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