The Oxford Book of Canadian Verse
A QuestionEdward John Chapman (1821–1904)
Prologue to ‘The Drama of Two Lives’
A
Poor heart, of the morrow beware!
Death may lurk in the brown eyes’ veiled gleaming,
In the white throat so wondrously fair.
The tones that wild heart-throbs awaken,
The sheen of the gold-showered hair,
The touch that thy soul hath so shaken
May lure thee and leave thee—ah, where?
The twin hounds of passion and pain
Are swift to arise in their madness
They rend, and they rest not again!
The day-dream is sweet in the dreaming,
But dreamless the night’s dull despair,
When the voice and the touch and the gleaming
Have lured thee, and left thee—ah, where?