Alma Frances McCollum (1879-1906). The Kissing-Gate. William Wilfred Campbell, comp. 1913. The Oxford Book of Canadian Verse

William Wilfred Campbell, comp. The Oxford Book of Canadian Verse. 1913.

The Kissing-Gate

By Alma Frances McCollum (1879–1906)


THE LAKELET lapped its pebbled beach
In rhythmic ebb and flow,
Accordant with the melody
The forest whispered low;
The arborvitae’s spicy breath	5
With fragrance filled the glade,
As o’er a rustic kissing-gate
It cast protecting shade;
There, Love, you waited ardently
The precious toll to take from me.	10

To-day the song is softly crooned
In minor undertone,
As through the wood I sadly stroll
Alone, my love, alone.
An eerie wind has caught the gate	15
And open flung it wide;
O Love, I would the great Beyond
Were just the other side!
Where we could find some restful spot
And feel the peace the world gives not.	20

Has Heaven glowing jasper walls,
And golden portal tall?
Tell me there is a forest lake,
And glad sky over all;
That arborvitaes thickly mass	25
And waft their incense sweet
Above an olden trysting-place,
Where we were wont to meet;
Tell me there is a kissing-gate,
Where you, O love, my love, will wait!	30