The Rosary

The hours I spent with Thee, Dear Heart!
Or, as a string of pearls to Thee,
I count them over, every one apart,
My rosary, my rosary . . .

Each hour a pearl, each pearl a prayer,
To still a heart in absence wrung,
I tell each bead unto the end,
And there a cross is hung . . .

O' memories that bless and burn,
O' barren gain and bitter loss,
I kiss each bead and strive at last to learn,
To kiss the cross, Sweet Heart,
To kiss the cross . . .

I kiss each bead and strive at last to learn,
To kiss the cross, Sweet Heart,
To kiss the cross . . . ( to kiss the cross )