Poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Which

We are both of us sad at heart,
   But I wonder who can say
Which has the harder part,
   Or the bitterer grief to-day.

You grieve for a love that was lost
   Before it had reached its prime;
I sit here and count the cost
   Of a love that has lived its time.

Your blossom was plucked in its May,
   In its dawning beauty and pride;
Mine lived till the August day,
   And reached fruition and died.

You pressed its leaves in a book,
   And you weep sweet tears o’er them.
Dry eyed I sit and look
   On a withered and broken stem.

And now that all is told,
   Which is the sadder, pray,
To give up your dream with its gold,
   Or to see it fade into grey?

1. The Birth of the Orchid
2. The Call (All wantonly in hours of joy)
3. Be Not Attached
4. Behold the Earth
5. The Black Charger

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