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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
I SMILE, BUT OH! MY HEART IS BREAKING, by MARY TUCKER LAMBERT Poet's Biography
First Line: I mingle with the young and gay
Last Line: I smile, but oh, my heart is breaking.
Alternate Author Name(s): Tucker, Mary Eliza Perine
Subject(s): Grief; Sorrow; Sadness
First Line: I mingle with the young and gay
Last Line: I smile, but oh, my heart is breaking.
Alternate Author Name(s): Tucker, Mary Eliza Perine
Subject(s): Grief; Sorrow; Sadness
I MINGLE with the young and gay,
In halls where Fashion holds her sway;
I gaze upon the giddy throng,
While for some quiet spot I long.
They call me heartless. Do they know
That mirth us but an empty show?
That silvery grandeur often shrouds
The storms which lurk within bright clouds?
The eye may beam with dazzling light,
And shed on all its glances bright,
Yet be unburdened of the tears,
That shone like diamonds there, for years.
The lips may breathe the thoughtless word,
And yet, too oft alas! unheard,
That word may mingle with a sigh
From reckless heart which prays to die.
I seek each joy -- I fain would lave
My restless mind in Lethe's wave;
But memory is ever waking --
I smile, but oh, my heart is breaking.
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