Constancy (op. 58, no. 1)

Constancy
by Edward MacDowell

Old lilac bushes thin and grey
In wistful longing sigh
Dishevelled roses blush in vain;
No mistress lingers by.
The tansy creeps e’en to the door
Through garden tangles sweet
Gaunt apple trees their wizened fruit,
Strew at the master’s feet;
And lo! a cricket bravely chirps
Throughout the lonely house,
But those who lov’d there long ago;
They sleep too deep to ‘rouse.
Yet keep, O keep your trust to heart,
‘Twill never last now long:
For house and ye shall pass away,
Yea! even as my song, my song.