Esther, A Sonnet Sequence: Iii

A little honey! Ay, a little sweet, A little pleasure when the years were young, A joyous measure trod by dancing feet, A tale of folly told by a loved tongue. These are the things by which our hearts are wrung More than by tears. Oh, I would rather laugh, So I had not to choose such tales among Which was most laughable. Man's nobler half Resents mere sorrow. I would rather sit With just the common crowd that watch the play And mock at harlequin and the clown's wit, And call it tragedy and go my way. I should not err, because the tragic part Lay not in these, but sealed in my own heart.