SONG.
Reading edition
I.
Oh! say, can honor lost, And a bright, unspotted name Come back to cheer the tempest-tossed, And cleanse him of his shame?
II.
Say! can an erring heart, That still has thoughts of good. Return once more to the shining part Of life, where once it stood?
III.
Can those who are more just And innocent than he, Refuse unto their kindred dust Their love and sympathy?
IV.
Is man more just than Heaven? Shall he, himself so weak, Who needs each hour to be forgiven, No words of pardon speak?
V.
Can they, who held him dear, Forget his errors past, And on his penitential tear Affection's glances cast?
VI.
Oh! yes! all this may be— But never, never more, Will he feel the sweet and childlike glee He felt in days of yore.
VII.
His eye can never more resume Its calm and fearless gaze; For the pureness of his heart is gone, The freshness of his days!
Pensieroso.