| J. C. Squire, ed. A Book of Women’s Verse. 1921. | | | | Stanzas to [Branwell Brontë?] | | By Emily Brontë (1818–1848) |
| | | WELL, some may hate, and some may scorn, | |
| And some may quite forget thy name; | |
| But my sad heart must ever mourn | |
| Thy ruined hopes, thy blighted fame! | |
| ’Twas thus I thought, an hour ago, | 5 |
| Even weeping o’er that wretch’s woe; | |
| One word turned back my gushing tears, | |
| And lit my altered eye with sneers. | |
| Then, ‘Bless the friendly dust’, I said, | |
| ‘That hides thy unlamented head! | 10 |
| Vain as thou wert, and weak as vain, | |
| The slave of Falsehood, Pride, and Pain— | |
| My heart has nought akin to thine; | |
| Thy soul is powerless over mine.’ | |
| But these were thoughts that vanished too; | 15 |
| Unwise, unholy, and untrue: | |
| Do I despise the timid deer, | |
| Because his limbs are fleet with fear? | |
| Or, would I mock the wolf’s death-howl, | |
| Because his form is gaunt and foul? | 20 |
| Or, hear with joy the leveret’s cry, | |
| Because it cannot bravely die? | |
| No! Then above his memory | |
| Let Pity’s heart as tender be; | |
| Say, ‘Earth lie lightly on that breast, | 25 |
| And, kind Heaven, grant that spirit rest!’ | | | | |
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