On this hapless earth
There 's small sincerity of mirth,
And laughter oft is but an art
To drown the outcry of the heart.


"Address to certain Gold-fishes". - Poems (1851)


On this hapless earth There 's small sincerity of mirth, And laughter oft is but an art To drown the outcry of the heart.

On this hapless earth There 's small sincerity of mirth, And laughter oft is but an art To drown the outcry of the heart.

On this hapless earth There 's small sincerity of mirth, And laughter oft is but an art To drown the outcry of the heart.

On this hapless earth There 's small sincerity of mirth, And laughter oft is but an art To drown the outcry of the heart.