Enigma

Some men are born to gather women's tears,

To give a harbour to their timorous fears,

To take them as the dry earth takes the rain,

As the dark wood the warm wind from the plain;

Yet their own tears remain unshed,

Their own tumultuous fears unsaid,

And, seeming steadfast as the forest and the earth,

Shaken are they with pain.  They cry for voice as earth might cry for the sea Or the wood for consuming fire;

Unanswered they remain Subject to the sorrows of women utterly — Heart and mind,

Subject as the dry earth to the rain Or the dark wood to the wind.

Composition date is unknown - the above date represents the first publication date.

Form: irregularly rhyming.