When old wounds bleed again <br />In the silence of the night, <br />And mixt with sweet delight <br />Wells up the stream of pain, <br />Is it less hard to endure <br />That when the sword struck first <br />So keen, with edge so sure? <br />Was that wild hour the worst? <br /> <br />O then a too strong smart <br />O'erwhelmed the senses' power. <br />Now in some tranquil hour <br />When, fortified, the heart <br />Is capable at ease <br />Of sorrow, now returns <br />By exquisite degrees <br />Pain, and in silence burns. <br /> <br />Is this still woe forlorn <br />Less than that fierce despair? <br />Perhaps 'tis worse to bear <br />Because 'tis easier borne.<br /><br />Robert Laurence Binyon<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/when-old-wounds-bleed-again/
