Poem by Thomas Hardy

To Life

O life with the sad seared face,
   I weary of seeing thee,
And thy draggled cloak, and thy hobbling pace,
   And thy too-forced pleasantry!

   I know what thou would'st tell
   Of Death, Time, Destiny -
I have known it long, and know, too, well
   What it all means for me.

   But canst thou not array
   Thyself in rare disguise,
And feign like truth, for one mad day,
   That Earth is Paradise?

   I'll tune me to the mood,
   And mumm with thee till eve;
And maybe what as interlude
   I feign, I shall believe! 

1. Genitrix Laesa
2. V.R. 1819–1901
3. Over the Coffin
4. Song from Heine
5. Song to an Old Burden

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