Tranquilla

IF all the world had told me thou wert false,

I had defied the world and ta’en thy part;

But when from thee the confirmation comes,

The arrow sinks, deep, deep, within my heart.

It bleeds to think, that, henceforth and forever,

A ghastly doubt must follow at thy side,

That confidence and holy trust can never

Beneath the shadow of our roof abide;

For unto thee a deep trust I had given,

That, in our darkest moments, cheered me on.

No gifts, no fortune, nothing under heaven

Can e’er replace that faith, it being gone!

Naught but distressing doubts, suspicious fears,

Can fill the measure of our coming years.