"Forbear," said I, "she is not thine to-day;
Subdue thyself in silence to await her;
If thou dare call her from Death's side away
Thou art no Love, but traitor.
Yet did he run, and she his kiss received,
"She is twice mine," he cried, "since she is troubled;
I knew but half, and now I see her grieved
My part in her is doubled."
{161}
Egeria's Silence
Her thought that, like a brook beside the way,
Sang to my steps through all the wandering year,
Has ceased from melody—O Love, allay
My sudden fear!
She cannot fail—the beauty of that brow
Could never flower above a desert heart—
Somewhere beneath, the well-spring even now
Lives, though apart.
Some day, when winter has renewed her fount
With cold, white-folded snows and quiet rain,
O Love, O Love, her stream again will mount
And sing again!
{162}
Against Oblivion
Cities drowned in olden time
Keep, they say, a magic chime
Rolling up from far below
When the moon-led waters flow.