As man loveth, man had loved
Her whose features faded there;
As man mourneth, man had mourned,
Weeping, in his dark despair,
Bitter tears,
When she left him broken-hearted
To his death of years.

Then for months the picture bent
All its eyes upon his face,
Following his where'er they went,--
Till another filled the place
In its stead,--
Till the features of the living
Did outface the dead.

Then for years it hung above
In that attic dim and ghast,
Fading with the fading love,
Sad reminder of the past,--
Save the eyes,
Ever looking, ever looking,
With such sad surprise!

Oft the distant laughter's sound
Entered through the cobwebbed door,
And the cry of children found
Dusty echoes from the floor
To those eyes,
Ever looking, ever looking,