Once more I write a line to you, While darker shadows fall;Dear friends of mine who have been true, And steadfast through it all.If I have written bitter rhymes, With many lines that halt,And if I have been false at times It was not all my fault.
To Heaven’s decree I would not bow, And I sank very low—The bitter things are written now, And we must let them go.But I feel softened as I write; The better spirit springs,And I am very sad to-night Because of many things.
The friendships that I have abused, The trust I did betray,The talents that I have misused, The gifts I threw away.The things that did me little good, And—well my cheeks might burn—The kindly letters that I should Have answered by return.
But you might deem them answered now, And answered from my heart;And injured friends will understand ’Tis I who feel the smart.But I have done with barren strife And dark imaginings,And in my future work and life Will seek the better things.