VERSE: NEVER AGAIN

"Never again!" vow hearts when reunited, "Never again shall Love be cast aside; For ever now the shadow has departed; Nor bitter sorrow, veiled in scornful pride, Shall feign indifference, or affect disdain, - Never, oh Love, again, never again!"

"Never again!" so sobs, in broken accents, A soul laid prostrate at a holy shrine, - "Once more, once more forgive, oh Lord, and pardon, My wayward life shall bend to love divine; And never more shall sin its whiteness stain, - Never, oh God, again, never again!"

"Never again!' so speaketh one forsaken, In the blank desolate passion of despair, - "Never again shall the bright dream I cherished Delude my heart, for bitter truth is there, - The angel, Hope, shall still thy cruel pain Never again, my heart, never again!"

"Never again!" so speaks the sudden silence, When round the hearth gathers each well-known face, - But one is missing, and no future presence, However dear, can fill that vacant place; For ever shall the burning thought remain, - "Never, beloved, again! never again!"

"Never again!" so--but beyond our hearing - Ring out far voices fading up the sky; Never again shall earthly care and sorrow Weigh down the wings that bear those souls on high; Listen, oh earth, and hear that glorious strain, - "Never, never again! never again!"