Seeking Rest

My Mother said : “The child is changed
That used to be so still ;
All the day long she sings and sings,
And seems to think no ill ;
She laughs as if some inward joy
Her heart would overfill.”

My Sisters said : ” Now prythee tell
Thy secret unto us :
Let us rejoice with thee ; for all
Is surely prosperous,
Thou art so merry : tell us, Sweet :
We had not used thee thus.”

My Mother says : ” What ails the child
Lately so blythe of cheer?
Art sick or sorry ? Nay, it is
The winter of the year ;
Wait till the Springtime comes again,
And the sweet flowers appear.”

My Sisters say : ” Come, sit with us,
That we may weep with thee :
Show us thy grief that we may grieve
Yea haply, if we see
Thy sorrow, we may ease it ; but
Shall share it certainly.”

How should I share my pain, who kept
My pleasure all my own ?
My Spring will never come again ;
My pretty flowers have blown
For the last time ; I can but sit
And think and weep alone.