When the lamp is shattered

When the lamp is shattered
The light in the dust lies dead--
When the cloud is scattered
The rainbow's glory is shed
When the lute is broken
Sweet tones are remembered not;
When the lips have spoken
Loved accents are soon forgot

As music and splendour
Survive not the lamp and the lute
The heart’s echoes render
No song when the spirit is mute: --
No song but sad dirges
Like the wind through a ruined cell
Or the mournful surges
That ring the dead seaman's knell

When hearts have once mingled
Love first leaves the well-built nest;
The weak one is singled
To endure what it once possessed
O Love! who bewailest
The frailty of all things here
Why choose you the frailest
For your cradle, your home, and your bier?

Its passions will rock thee
As the storms rock the ravens on high;
Bright reason will mock thee
Like the sun from a wintry sky
From thy nest every rafter
Will rot, and thine eagle home
Leave thee naked to laughter
When leaves fall and cold winds come