Classic Poem

Thatch of palm and a patch of clover,
Breath of balm in a field of brown,
The clouds blew up and the birds flew over,
And I look'd upward; but who look'd down?

Who was true in the test that tried us?
Who was it mock'd? Who now may mourn
The loss of a love that a cross denied us,
With folded hands and a heart forlorn?

God forgive us when the fair forget us.
The worth of a smile, the weight of a tear,
Why, who can measure? The fates beset us.
We laugh a moment; we mourn a year.