SHALL then a traitorous kiss or a smile All my delights unhappily beguile? Shall the vow of feigned love receive so rich regard, When true service dies neglected, and wants his due reward? Deeds meritorious soon be forgot, But one offence no time can ever blot; Every day it is renewed, and every night it bleeds, And with bloody streams of sorrow drowns all our better deeds. Beauty is not by Desert to be won; Fortune hath all that is beneath the sun. Fortune is the guide of Love, and both of them be blind: All their ways are full of errors, which no true feet can find. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A PLANTATION BACCHANAL by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON THE REWARD by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON BATTLEDORE AND SHUTTLECOCK by AMY LOWELL SURFACES AND MASKS; 7 by CLARENCE MAJOR SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: JAMES GARBER by EDGAR LEE MASTERS SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: JUDGE SELAH LIVELY by EDGAR LEE MASTERS |