Rudyard Kipling

Caret

Something wanting in this world —
	What is it? To each and all
Different desires come,
	Tides of longing rise and fall.

Hopes of youth still unfulfilled,
	Homes that have an empty chair,
Gulfs that gape and pits that balk;
	Something wanting everywhere.

Can we fill the gap with love,
	Forge the missing link with gold?
Let the heart be ne'er so warm,
	Still one portion blank and cold.

Broken chords are but our share;
	Harmony with discord blends;
Fate's dull web but coarsest cloth,
	Patched with finer odds and ends.