Life

by Katharine Lee Bates

Life went hand in hand with Joy
Ere Life's heart was broken,
This round world his magic toy
Fashioned to betoken
Some bright mystery that glows
Jubilant in star and rose,
Allah's fair incognitos.
Life kept holiday with Joy
Till Life's heart was broken.

Now the star and rose but seem
Forecasts of their fading,
Pathos of a slipping dream,
Ruin masquerading
In a fragile gold and pink.
Life bends brooding o'er the brink
Whither stars and roses sink,
Life to whom all beauties seem
Forecasts of their fading.