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'Tis a strange world we came to, You and I,
Whence no man knows, and surely none knows why,
Why we remain—a harder question still,
And still another—whither when we die?

Into this life of cruel wonder sent,
Without a word to tell us what it meant,
Sent back again without a reason why—
Birth, life, and death—'twas all astonishment.

I wonder why I go on living still
This life of pain and poison; why I still
Trust friends, hope good, still fight and still have faith
In this world's business—still, think of it, still!

I gave my heart, and life returns me—nought;
My mind, my soul, I gave—for what? For nought.
All dreams and loves and hopes I freely gave,
Nothing is left to give—I give it—nought!

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