I would sail alone, and rather dream
Of you, than change thoughts with another.
Now May is come so beautiful, so blue,
And the chestnuts and the willows are green
Again ... then, since I may not be near you,
Dear brother, let me sail alone, unseen,
'Neath the overhanging buds, past rushes
Where the white, graceful swan sits on her nest,
Hear the song of the ripples and thrushes
And be with solitude ... the second-best.