The Aftermath.
The glamour of the after-light1
Lay clear and fair along the sky,2
And made the pathway eerie-bright3
As home we wandered—thou and I.4
The meadow-mists were lying low ;5
A shadow held the riverside ;6
The water took the western glow,7
And peace, grey peace, spread far and wide.8
A sober-heartedness was ours—9
So still the earth, the sky so strange ;10
And we had given in sunny hours11
Our youthful hearts their widest range.12
We lingered in the meadow-path13
Touched by the twilight’s silent spell,14
While from the sun’s fleet aftermath15
A subtle glory rose and fell.16
Dim, wistful thoughts within us grew,17
Forebodings of the life to be,18
Till with a sudden thrill we knew19
Time’s touch of immortality.20
For all the wonder and the awe,21
Far-widening within the west,22
Seemed with a mystic power to draw23
Our hearts into its kindly rest.24
Yet still it faded, faded fast,25
And night crept up the eastern slope ;26
But o’er our lives a strength had passed,27
And left us with a larger hope.28
So home we wandered—thou and I—29
That night, sweet wife, so long ago,30
And still we watch the western sky31
And strengthen in its mystic glow.32