Gift O' Love To Me

I
I was a very lonely lad,
I was a lad without a hope;
I was a lad who fought the world,
The king, the tyrant, and the Pope.
I was a lad who had a soul,
And many thousand ills could feel, —
Until the walls of stone fell down,
And God, dear God, sent me Lucille.

II
I wandered in the darkness drear,
Along the curvéd country path;
I shuddered at each little sound,
Like man when God is in His wrath.
The years had claimed their toll of pain,
The wounds of childhood would not heal;
I would have died in Sorrow's arms, —
But God, dear God, sent me Lucille.

III
And now at eve I pray to Him,
And find His face in every star;
His tender mercy has no end,
His guiding light shines from afar.
And when the moon is full and round,
Before His presence do I kneel;
For I can read from out my heart
That God, dear God, sent me Lucille.
Waters of Forgetfulness
Waters of forgetfulness,
Waters of the River Lethe,
Bearing on thy gentle waves
Souls of those who passed beyond;
Let me drink but one small drop,
Let my sorrows pass away,
Pass away and be no more;
Let my yearning cease and die,
Like the beating of a heart
When the Angel Death has come,
Ruthless, at the chamber door.
As the Trojan, homeward bound,
Saw the light above the Styx,
So my heart is glad when morn
Has descended straight to me.
Waters of forgetfulness,
Waters of the River Lethe,
Let me drink but one small drop, —
Then shall I have joy and peace.