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AH! who but oft hath marveled why
The gods who rule above
Should e'er permit the young to die,
The old to fall in love! -
Ah! why should hapless human-kind
Be punished out of season?
Pray listen, and perhaps you'll find
My rhyme may give the reason! -
Death, strolling out one summer's day
Met Cupid, with his sparrows;
And, bantering in a merry way,
Proposed a change of arrows. -
"Agreed!" quoth Cupid, "I foresee
The queerest game of errors;
For you the King of Hearts will be,
And I'll be King of Terrors." -
And so't was done. Alas the day
That multiplied their arts!
Each from the other bore away
A portion of his darts, -
And that explains the reason why,
Despite the gods above,
The young are often doomed to die
The old to fall in love!
The fundamental story involves Death and Cupid who once mistakenly swapped their arrows. As a result, those mortals aimed at by Death fall in love, and those targeted by Cupid die.
