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The honest abject tear,
Let the grief break and pour;
Gather the shadows comfortably near,
And sleep as children sleep.

A little little while!
To wake and smile,
Indifferent to the dark,
Holding to me my one-time joy
As children clutch an ancient battered toy
They will not have renewed;
Smile, and lie closer to a loss
That tunes itself to gain,
(Inexorable lullaby),
Lie softer, safer,
Pillowed on fortitude—
Drowsy—
Beneath my pain.

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