| Andrew Macphail, comp. The Book of Sorrow. 1916. | | | XXIV. Bitter Sorrow
To Le Vayer, on the Death of his Son | | By Henry Austin Dobson (1840–1921) |
| | (After Molière)
LET thy tears flow, Le Vayer, let them flow:— | |
| None of scant cause thy sorrowing can accuse, | |
| Since, losing that which thou for aye dost lose, | |
| E’en the most wise might find a ground for woe. | |
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| Vainly we strive with precepts to forgo | 5 |
| The drops of pity that are Pity’s dues; | |
| And Nature’s self, indignant, doth refuse | |
| To count for fortitude that heartless show. | |
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| No grief, alas! can now bring back again | |
| The son too dear, by Death untimely ta’en; | 10 |
| Yet, not the less, his loss is hard to bear, | |
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| Graced as he was by all the world reveres, | |
| Large heart, keen wit, a lofty soul and rare,— | |
| —Surely these claim immitigable tears! | | | | |
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