Stern duty calls and I, alas,
Must her behest obey.
Must now with strength my will compass,
Nor wavering thought betray.
It is, it must be fate's decree,
That while I sojourn here,
To be my lot to turn and flee
From all my heart holds dear.
To pass with cold averted eyes,
The hand I fain would clasp,
And shun the thing my soul would prize
At last within my grasp.
Why did I choose this life of pain?
Why do I live it still?
Why drink the dregs, and then again
My cup of sorrow fill?
I do not know, I cannot tell.
Nor why along the road
When from my back the burden fell
I took again the load.
I think I love the life of pain
That God has given to me.
For I would live it o'er again
If such a thing could be.
The sorrows that have come to me
Have taught me how to find
The souls in need of sympathy,
The wrecked among mankind.
My loss has been a blessed gain
For I have learnt to know,
That oft a simple woman's pain
May heal a nation's woe.
This work is in the public domain in Australia because it was created in Australia and the term of copyright has expired.
See Australian Copyright Council - Duration of Copyright (January 2019).
This work is also in the public domain in the United States because it was in the public domain in Australia in 1996, and no copyright was registered in the U.S. (This is the combined effect of Australia having joined the Berne Convention in 1928, and of 17 USC 104A with its critical date of January 1, 1996.)
This work was published before January 1, 1927, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.