Classic Poem

Great Caesar when the Egyptian traitor brought
The cruel gift of Pompey's honored head,
Wept outward from the eyes—as it is said,
Hiding his inward joyfulness of thought.
And Hannibal, when adverse fortune wrought
The ruin of the band his brother led,
Smiled bitterly though every hope had fled,
Masking the grief with which his soul was fraught.
And thus the heart, to hide it's real feeling,
Feigns grief in joy, and joy in grief agen,
By falsehood oftentimes the truth revealing;
And thus it is, that I, like other men,
In careless smiles, a ceaseless care concealing
Dissemble woes untold by tongue or pen.