by
        Cary, Alice

There is true love, and yet you may
Have lingering doubts about it;
I'll tell the truth, and simply say
That life 's a blank without it.
There is a love both true and strong,
A love that falters never;
It lives on faith, and suffers wrong,
But lives and loves forever.
Such love is found but once on earth---
The heart cannot repel it;
From whence it comes, or why its birth,
The tongue may never tell it.
This love is mine, in spite of all,
This love I fondly cherish;
The earth may sink, the skies may fall,
This love will never perish.
It is a love that cannot die,
But, like the soul, immortal,
And with it cleaves the starry sky
And passes through the portal.
This is the love that comes to stay---
All other loves are fleeting;
And when they come, just turn away---
It is but Cupid cheating.