If Truth in Hearts That Perish

 If truth in hearts that perish 
Could move the powers on high, 
I think the love I bear you 
Should make you not to die. 

Sure, sure, if stedfast meaning, 
If single thought could save, 
The world might end to-morrow, 
You should not see the grave. 

This long and sure-set liking, 
This boundless will to please, 
--Oh, you should live for ever, 
If there were help in these. 

But now, since all is idle, 
To this lost heart be kind, 
Ere to a town you journey 
Where friends are ill to find.

Form: Ballad Comments

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Book: Diverse Voices: The Poetry of Human Rights and the Pursuit of Peace