BASE-BORN, a poem

MY parents had great joy, I wis,
     Of their young days of love.
In thought they were as deathless gods,
     Mere human laws above:
As deathless gods! But I?—alas!
     Of joy what can I tell?
Who am but as a broken vase
     Beside a brimming well.

My parents in each other's eyes
     Beheld the heavenly stars,
And found in one another's arms
     The bliss that heaven unbars:
They vowed when pleasure filled the cup
     None should resist its spell:
They quaffed,—and emptied me of joy,
     Beside life's brimming well!

"Base-Born" by Florence Earle Coates. Published in The Unconquered Air (1912) and Poems (1916) Volume I.