Poems (Allen)/Tempt me no More

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4385921Poems — Tempt me no MoreElizabeth Chase Allen
TEMPT ME NO M0RE.
TEMPT me no more;—thy tones are sweet and deep,
Yet they fall vainly on my weary ears:
Pass on, and leave me here to dream and weep,
Counting the footfalls of the lonesome years;—
          Tempt me no more!

My wreath of life holds no fresh bloom for thee,—
Its flowers are strewn on unforgotten graves,—
Only its withered leaves remain to me,
And they drift darkly toward death's wintry waves;—
          Tempt me no more.

Gather not rose-leaves trampled in the dust:
No kindness can their wasted bloom renew.
Go, let them die unheeded, as they must;
Seek thou for blossoms fresh and bright with dew;—
          Tempt me no more!