_To One Bereaved_
You welcomed me with such a joyous mask
Across the silence of your hurt wide eyes,
That I too forced banalities and lies
And dared no comfort, though I came to ask
The many little questions, long rehearsed,
Which meant relief, and friendship. What we said
So lightly, never touched upon the dead,
Yet we both knew that when we laughed we cursed
The bitter God who could make laughter too,
Beside this sorrow. Strange, we did not stare
Mute sympathy: I only smiling sought
To show I knew how bitterly was bought
Your cheerful beauty. But I turned my chair,
Once, when you laughed----, and looked away from you.