Ex Anima.

The gloomy hours of silence wake             Remembrance and her train,         And phantoms through the fancies chase             The mem'ries that remain;         And hidden in the dark embrace             Of days that now are gone,         I see a form, a fairy form,             And fancy hurries on!         I see the old familiar smile,             I hear the tender tone,         I greet the softness of the glance             That cheered me when alone;         The ruby chains of rich romance             That bound our bosoms o'er,         I still can know, I still can feel,             As they were felt before.         I name the vows, the fresh young vows,             That we together said;         What matters it? She can not know;             She slumbers with the dead!         Again the fields of fate I sow,             As she and I have sown;         I dream again the same old dreams,             But I am left alone!         The twining grasses verdant wreathe             Above her silent grave;         The rose and violet over all             Their purest blossoms wave;         Unbidden from their fountains fall             The tender tides of tears;         A sorrow winds among the days,             And chains the passing years.         My life commingles shine with shade,             The lily with the rose,         And in my heart a loathsome weed             Beside each lily grows;         Through every thought, through every deed,             The somber shadows play;         And I am sad, alone and sad,             And life is never gay.