Give me, O Fate, some one to love
    And one to love me in return;
To win this blessing saints above
    For old time earthly haunts might yearn.

Oh, for the touch of gentle hands,
    The spell of accents sweet and low!
One cannot crush the heart's demands;
    Nature will not be cheated so!

Man's bosom ever seeks its mate;
    No soul that lives can live alone
Unloved, the king in kingliest state
    But banquets on a crust and bone.

The dream, I dream may be in vain,
    My idol be with earth alloyed,
But shield me from this deadening pain
    of seeing faith and trust destroyed!

The disenchantments learned from truth
    Fall blotting life's unsullied page;
Better sweet follies born of youth
    Than bitter wisdom bought of age!

Reft of its plumage sinks the dove,
    Reft of its dewdrops droops the fern;
Give me, O fate, some one to love,
    And one to love me in return.