A Coward Heart
SUPPOSE that once, and only once, my feet,
Straying from beaten pathways of the plain,
Had scaled forbidden mountain heights, and fleet
To escape pursuit, had scorned fatigue and pain,
And climbing ever higher, reached at length
Some topmost pinnacle, whence, looking down,
I saw no glimmer of the household fire,
And caught no echo of familiar tone,
Light, warmth, and music, all for ever gone!
Should I not swift descend the mountain slope
With eager eyes, and straining ears, in hope
To find again the welcome light and sound,
Thinking no path so smooth as that I left?
I know it. Yet I pace this beaten track
Reluctantly, and with uplifted gaze
Turned ever to some unknown point o'er head,
Dim in the distance, and all veiled and vague.
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