Could you but know one half the bitter trouble
That all my soul in ceaseless anguish grieves,
Could you but see the hopeless chaff and stubble
Of my life's golden sheaves;
That all my soul in ceaseless anguish grieves,
Could you but see the hopeless chaff and stubble
Of my life's golden sheaves;
Could you but see them as I see them daily
A dreadful wreck I strive to rise above;
You nevermore would win to trample gaily
A woman's deathless love.
A dreadful wreck I strive to rise above;
You nevermore would win to trample gaily
A woman's deathless love.
Then come not back with well-learned look and tone,
Caprice or impulse led,
You are a stranger I have never known—
The friend I loved is dead.
Caprice or impulse led,
You are a stranger I have never known—
The friend I loved is dead.
So blind, so ignorant are we,
Like children at their play;
We toss a pebble in the sea
And throw a gem away.
Like children at their play;
We toss a pebble in the sea
And throw a gem away.
We strew bright blossoms in the sun
By careless impulse led,
And when our eager quest is done
Come back to find them dead.
By careless impulse led,
And when our eager quest is done
Come back to find them dead.
Then hold life's precious things with care
And prize them at their worth;
Thou hast ten million stones to spare,
Thy gems are few, oh earth!
And prize them at their worth;
Thou hast ten million stones to spare,
Thy gems are few, oh earth!
There is a lesson often learned
In life's long road too late,
And then upon the Memory burned
With the iron hand of Fate.
In life's long road too late,
And then upon the Memory burned
With the iron hand of Fate.
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