Little life, so fragile were your heartbeats;
So sweetly innocent your sudden fleeting smile;
So tiny were your footsteps on the carpet in the hall.
I only realized blankly, vaguely at the while
That they were gone;
And I poor foolish mortal,
I thought that you were mine to have, to love forever.
And I, dumb, senseless creature,
O could I have one moment how much more would I store away
Of priceless love and memories,
Born in one moment,
Than I gained from a few too brief years.
– Circa 1935