Poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Best

In the gruesome night and the wintry weather,
   I watched two dear friends die,
And I buried them both in one grave together.
   Oh! who is so sad as I?
For the old love, and the old year,
   They both have passed away;
And I never can find the old cheer
   Come what will or may.

I heard the bell in the tall church steeple
   Clang out a joyful strain.
And I thought, ’Of all the great world’s people,
   I have the bitterest pain.’
For the old year was a good year,
   And the old love was sweet;
And how could my heart hold any cheer
   When both lay dead at my feet.

Life may smile and the skies may brighten,
   Winter will pass with its snows;
Grief will wane and the burden lighten--
   And June will come with the rose.
But it cannot bring the old cheer
   To fill my empty breast;
For the old year was the one year,
   And the old love was best.

1. The Birth of the Orchid
2. The Black Charger
3. All the World
4. At Set of Sun
5. The Call (All wantonly in hours of joy)

Helen Jackson Best ("Mother, I see you with your nursery light")

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