There is a word that rends the heart
Which all have said and all must say -
Which breaks the bands of love apart
And drives the dream of bliss away
And e'en when youth all buoyant springs
Fresh into life and gaily sings
Light as the wood lark on the spray
That dreaded word may then be said
Sad as the requiem o'er the dead.
A word - that makes us sadly own
That all our dearest joys are vain
Which bids us trace our steps alone
Along the flinty path of pain -
Which uttered by the parting breath
When the soul feels the chill of death
And cannot glow with life again
Commands the tears of love to flow
O'er what hath been its joy below.
A word - that breaks the fond caress
Of youthful hearts in happy hours -
Which makes the world a wilderness
Devoid of verdure, fun and flowers -
The faded leaves bestrew the ground
The deadly ivy creeping round