Emily Dickinson #23 [1858]

I had a guinea golden-
I lost it in the sand-
And tho' the sum was simple
And pounds were in the hand-
Still, had it such a value
Unto my frugal eye-
That when I could not find it-
I sat down to sigh.

I had a crimson Robin-
Who sang full many a day
But when the woods were painted,
He, too, did fly away-
Time brought me other Robins-
Their ballads were the same-
Still, for my missing Troubadour
I kept the "house at hame."

I had a star in heaven-
One "Pleiad" was its name-
And when I was not heeding,
It wandered from the same.
And tho' the skies are crowded-
And all the night ashine-
I do not care about it-
Since none of them are mine.

My story has a moral-
I have a missing friend-
"Pleiad" its name, and Robin,
And guinea in the sand.
And when this mournful ditty
Accompanied with tear-
Shall meet the eye of traitor
In country far from here-
Grant that repentance solemn
May seize upon his mind-
And he no consolation
Beneath the sun may find.