BETA

Cold and Quiet.

Cold, my dear,—cold and quiet.1
In their cups on yonder lea,2
Cowslips fold the brown bee’s diet ;3
So the moss enfoldeth thee.4
“ Plant me, plant me, O love, a lily flower—5
Plant at my head, I pray you, a green tree ;6
And when our children sleep,” she sighed,
“ at the dusk hour,7
And when the lily blossoms, O come out
to me !”8
Lost, my dear ?  Lost ! nay, deepest9
Love is that which loseth least ;10
Through the night-time while thou
sleepest,11
Still I watch the shrouded east.12
Near thee, near thee, my wife that aye liveth,13
“ Lost” is no word for such a love as mine ;14
Love from her past to me a present giveth,15
And love itself doth comfort, making pain
divine.16
Rest, my dear, rest. Fair showeth17
That which was, and not in vain18
Sacred have I kept, God knoweth,19
Love’s last words atween us twain.20
“ Hold by our past, my only love, my lover ;21
Fall not, but rise, O love, by loss of me !”22
Boughs from our garden, white with bloom
hang over.23
Love, now the children slumber, I come
out to thee.24
Tailpiece of a bird perched on a branch covered in leaves and flowers. 1/16 page.