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Home  »  The Little Book of Modern Verse  »  I Know Not Why

Jessie B. Rittenhouse, ed. (1869–1948). The Little Book of Modern Verse. 1917.

Morris Rosenfeld

I Know Not Why

I LIFT mine eyes against the sky,

The clouds are weeping, so am I;

I lift mine eyes again on high,

The sun is smiling, so am I.

Why do I smile? Why do I weep?

I do not know; it lies too deep.

I hear the winds of autumn sigh,

They break my heart, they make me cry;

I hear the birds of lovely spring,

My hopes revive, I help them sing.

Why do I sing? Why do I cry?

It lies so deep, I know not why.