Spirit Of Jefferson

POETICAL.

A WOMAN'S QUESTION.

Before I trust my fate to thee,
Or place my hand in thine;
Before I let thy future give
Color and form to mine;
Before I peril all for thee,
Question thy soul to-night for me.

I break all lighter bonds, nor feel
A shadow of regret;
Is there one link within the past
That holds thy spirit yet?
Or is thy faith as clear and free
As that which I can pledge to thee?

Look deeper still. If thou can'st feel
That thou hast kept a portion back,
Within thy inmost soul,
While I have staked the whole—
Let no false pity spare the blow,
But, in true mercy, tell me so.

Is there within thy heart a need
Which mine cannot fulfill?
One cord that any other hand
Could better wake or still?
Speak now, lest at some future day
My whole life wither or decay.

Could'st thou withdraw thy hand one day,
And answer to my claim,
That fate, and that to-day's mistake,
Not thou, had been to blame?
Some soothe their conscience thus, but thou
Will surely warn and save me now.

Nay, answer not—I dare not hear,
The words would come too late;
Yet I would spare thee all remorse,
So comfort thee, my Fate—
Whatever on my heart may fall,
Remember I would risk it all.