oscar wilde

yet each man kills the thing he loves,
by each let this be heard,
some do it with a bitter look,
some with a flattering word.
the coward does it with a kiss,
the brave man with a sword!

some kill their love when they are young,
and some when they are old;
some strangle with the hands of lust,
some with the hands of gold:
the kindest use a knife, because
the dead so soon grow cold

some love too little, some too long,
some sell and others buy;
some do the deed with many tears,
and some without a sigh:
for each man kills the thing he loves,
yet each man does not die.

he does not die a death of shame
on a day of dark disgrace,
nor have a noose about his neck,
nor a cloth upon his face
nor drop feet foremost through the floor
into an empty space.