Penance

My lover died a century ago,             Her dear heart stricken by my sland'rous breath,             Wherefore the Gods forbade that I should know                 The peace of death.             Men pass my grave, and say, "'Twere well to sleep,             Like such an one, amid the uncaring dead!"             How should they know the vigils that I keep,                 The tears I shed?             Upon the grave, I count with lifeless breath,             Each night, each year, the flowers that bloom and die,             Deeming the leaves, that fall to dreamless death,                 More blest than I.             'Twas just last year -- I heard two lovers pass             So near, I caught the tender words he said:             To-night the rain-drenched breezes sway the grass                 Above his head.             That night full envious of his life was I,             That youth and love should stand at his behest;             To-night, I envy him, that he should lie                 At utter rest.