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. At Eleusis
2. Affirm
3. Intermediary
4. Queries
5. Praise Day

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

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