there stands a cross beneath a bough.
47
'And happiness was ours ... so nearly!
It came so close!. . . But now my fate
Has been decreed. I may have merely
Been foolish when I failed to wait;
But mother with her lamentation
Implored me, and in resignation
(All futures seemed alike in woe)
I married. . . .
Now I beg you, go!
I've faith in you and do not tremble;
I know that in your heart reside
Both honour and a manly pride.
I love you (why should I dissemble?);
But I am now another's wife,
And I'll be faithful all my life.'
48
She left him then. Eugene, forsaken,
Stood seared, as if by heaven's fire.
How deep his stricken heart is shaken!
With what a tempest of desire!
A sudden clink of spurs rings loudly,
As Tanya's husband enters proudly
And here ... at this unhappy turn
For my poor hero, we'll adjourn
And leave him, reader, at his station. . .
For long . . . forever. In his train
We've roamed the world down one slim lane
For long enough. Congratulation
On reaching land at last. Hurray!
And long since time, I'm sure you'd say!
49
Whatever, reader, your reaction,
and whether you be foe or friend,
I hope we part in satisfaction. . .
As comrades now. Whatever end
You may have sought in these reflections
Tumultuous, fond recollections,
Relief from labours for a time,
Live images, or wit in rhyme,
Or maybe merely faulty grammar
God grant that in my careless art,
For fun, for dreaming, for the heart. . .
For raising journalistic clamour,
You've found at least a crumb or two.
And so let's part; farewell. . . adieu!
50
Farewell, you too, my moody neighbour,
