Walk I ever in penitence
Pictures pass me in long review
Daubed with ashes of myriad Lents
This, no ballad of innocence
I loved them 'til they loved me
This, a solo of sapience
Followed ever her natural bents
I was tender and often true
We're as nature has made us hence
This, a chantey of sophistry
I loved them 'til they loved me
This, the rhyme of a lady who
Marking stones in my reverence
Ever a prey to coincidence
I loved them 'til they loved me
I loved them 'til they loved me
This, the sum of experiments
Always knew I the consequence
I loved them 'til they loved me
Always saw what the end would be
I loved them 'til they loved me
You're my strength and my weakness, gents
I loved them 'til they loved me
Princes, never I'd give offense
Won't you think of me tenderly?
I loved them 'til they loved me
Oft I roam, as my heart repents
Wearing shower bouquets of rue
I loved them 'til they loved me
Marching columns of dead events
Through God's acres of memory
This, no song of ingenue
Decked in garments of sable hue