Arthur Quiller-Couch, comp. The Oxford Book of Victorian Verse. 1922.
Soul and BodySamuel Waddington (18441923)
W
Became thy dwelling place? Didst thou on earth,
Or in the clouds, await this body’s birth?
Or by what chance upon that winter’s morn
Didst thou this body find, a babe forlorn?
Didst thou in sorrow enter, or in mirth?
Or for a jest, perchance, to try its worth
Thou tookest flesh, ne’er from it to be torn?
Thou wert not on the earth, nor in the sky;
For with my body’s growth thou too didst grow;
But with that body’s death wilt thou too die?
I know not, and thou canst not tell me, so
In doubt we’ll go together—thou and I.