AY, smile as you will, with your saintly face!
But I know the line
Of your guard is as weak as a maze of lace:
You may give no sign-
And the devil is never far to seek,
And a rotten peach has a lovely cheek.
As they come in the stream, I say to you:
The lives we jostle are none of them true.
Who seeks with a lamp and glass may find
A nature of honor from core to rind;
But woe to the heart that is formed so true:
It may not reck, and it still must rue
The perjured lip and the bleeding vow.
God keep it blind to the things we know-
To the ghastly scars for the leech's eyes
And the occult lore of the worldly wise.
Under The Surface
John Boyle O'reilly
(1)
Poem topics: god, heart, nature, never, smile, wise, weak, face, lamp, blind, devil, honor, rotten, glass, stream, guard, true, I love you, I miss you, Print This Poem , Rhyme Scheme
Submit Spanish Translation
Submit German Translation
Submit French Translation
Write your comment about Under The Surface poem by John Boyle O'reilly
Best Poems of John Boyle O'reilly