Classic and Contemporary Poetry
MANIAC'S SONG, by JOHN GARDINER CALKINS BRAINARD Poet's Biography First Line: I can but smile when others weep Last Line: Than all the smiles I ever knew. Subject(s): Insanity; Madness; Mental Illness | ||||||||
I CAN but smile when others weep, I can but weep when others smile; O! let me in this bosom keep The secret of my heart awhile. My form was fair, my step was light, As ever tripped the dance along; My cheek was smooth, my eye was bright-- My thought was wild, my heart was young. And he I loved would laugh with glee, And every heart but mine was glad; He had a smile for all but me; O! he was gay, and I was sad! Now, I have lost my blooming health, And joy, and hope, no more abide; And wildering fancies come by stealth, Like moonlight on a shifting tide. They say he wept, when he was told That I was sad and sorrowful; That on my wrist the chain was cold -- That at my heart the blood was dull. They fear I'm crazed -- they need not fear, For smiles are false, and tears are true; I better love to see a tear, Than all the smiles I ever knew. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE PARENTS OF PSYCHOTIC CHILDREN by MARVIN BELL VISITS TO ST. ELIZABETHS by ELIZABETH BISHOP FOR THE MAD by LUCILLE CLIFTON STONEHENGE by ALBERT GOLDBARTH DAY ROOM: ST. ELIZABETHS HOSPITAL by MICHAEL S. HARPER SEELE IN RAUM by RANDALL JARRELL TO A FRIEND by JOHN GARDINER CALKINS BRAINARD |
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