Bliss Carman, et al., eds. The World’s Best Poetry. 1904.
II. Parting and AbsenceThe Wife to her Husband
AnonymousL
Its dearest tokens do but make me mourn.
O, let its memory, like a chain about thee,
Gently compel and hasten thy return!
Bethink thee, can the mirth of thy friends, though dear,
Compensate for the grief thy long delaying
Costs the fond heart that sighs to have thee here?
As evening shadows stretch o’er moor and dell;
When the wild bee hath ceased her busy humming,
And silence hangs on all things like a spell!
As night grows dark and darker on the hill!
How shall I weep, when I can watch no longer!
Ah! art thou absent, art thou absent still?
Gazeth through tears that makes its splendor dull;
For oh! I sometimes fear when thou art with me,
My cup of happiness is all too full.
Haste, as a bird unto its peaceful nest!
Haste, as a skiff, through tempests wide and swelling,
Flies to its haven of securest rest!