Haniel Long. The Cause of This I Know Not. Harriet Monroe, ed. Poetry: A Magazine of Verse. 1912-22

Harriet Monroe, ed. (1860–1936). Poetry: A Magazine of Verse. 1912–22.

The Cause of This I Know Not

By Haniel Long


From “On the Road” THE CAUSE of this I know not,
Whither they went, nor why;
But I still remember the laughter
And the bright eyes flashing by—
The day the girls were kissing	5
The boys who had to die.

I search in vain for the reason—
What does a poet know?—
Only that youth is lovely,
Only that youth must go;	10
And hearts are made to be broken,
And love is always woe.