by Luis G. Dato
How sad, how sad the human pilgrimage,
How tragic, O how tragic human fate!
Our Book has taught us we are lords and great,
God’s heir and Adam’s from the primal age;
And yet we find to earth we’ll pay our wage,
On thorny paths we strive and meet our mate,
And ere we know our day is rather late,
The earth our tomb, our cross, our golden cage.
For here we live and love, but here we die,
After a moment’s bliss an endless woe,
God gives but minds that vainly question why;
Love comes, and for a while our spirits fly,
And then the utter gloom, the final throe,
God gives us minds our tragic doom to know.
