Stephen Crane: Verses about Alone

Love walked alone.
The rocks cut her tender feet,
And the brambles tore her fair limbs.
There came a companion to her,
But, alas, he was no help,
For his name was heart's pain. .

In a lonely place,
I encountered a sage
Who sat, all still,
Regarding a newspaper.
He accosted me:
'Sir, what is this? '
Then I saw that I was greater,
Aye, greater than this sage.
I answered him at once,
'Old, old man, it is the wisdom of the age.'
The sage looked upon me with admiration.