Explore "Roses and Rue" by Leigh Gordon Giltner on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
I have seen him once again, / There in the throng with his wife / (An eagle matched with a pitiful wren!) / Bitter in sooth has his portion been-- / Chained to a clog for life! / Strange that our eyes as of yore should meet / And hold each other a breathless space, / That the dawn-light of old should illumine his face, / That the lips that were stern should an instant grow sweet, / Touched with the old-time tender grace. / But his eyes were haggard and old with pain / (Traitors to thwart his resolute will!) / They told me the struggle was vain--all vain! / He loves me--loves me still.