If they had known the wastes lost love must cross

The wastes of unlit lands—

If they had known what seas of salt tears toss

Between the barren sands.

If she had known that when in the wide west

The sun sank gold and red,

He whispered bitterly: “’Tis like the rest,”

The warmth and light have fled.

If he had known that she had borne so much

For sake of the sweet past,