| Andrew Macphail, comp. The Book of Sorrow. 1916. | | | XXIV. Bitter Sorrow
From ‘The Affliction of Margaret ——’ | | By William Wordsworth (1770–1850) |
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I LOOK for ghosts; but none will force | |
| Their way to me: ’tis falsely said | |
| That there was ever intercourse | |
| Between the living and the dead; | |
| For, surely, then I should have sight | 5 |
| Of him I wait for day and night, | |
| With love and longings infinite. | |
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| My apprehensions come in crowds; | |
| I dread the rustling of the grass; | |
| The very shadows of the clouds | 10 |
| Have power to shake me as they pass: | |
| I question things and do not find | |
| One that will answer to my mind; | |
| And all the world appears unkind. | |
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| Beyond participation lie | 15 |
| My troubles, and beyond relief: | |
| If any chance to heave a sigh, | |
| They pity me, and not my grief. | |
| Then come to me, my Son, or send | |
| Some tidings that my woes may end; | 20 |
| I have no other earthly friend! | | | | |
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