A sitting woman in white robes and a black shawl leans upon a railing as she gazes
at the ocean. There
is a figure in a small boat on the water. 1/2-page illustration contained in a thick,
single-ruled border.
“ If Thou Hadst Known.”
If thou hadst
known that yon wide sheet of blue,1
Sweeping with pearly fringe the silver sand,2
Could change to foam and darkness, till it grew3
To frenzy, dashing wrecks upon the strand,4
Wouldst thou have sent thy heart’s desire afloat5
On that fair-seeming sea of tears alone,6
And ventured all within one little boat,7
If thou hadst known ?8
If thou hadst known that parting look of thine9
Would be the last that loving eyes should see,10
Would not its sweetness have been so divine11
That even angels might have learnt of thee ?12
Would there have been the cold unmeaning gaze,13
The nerveless hand, the unresponsive tone14
To haunt remembrance through thy lonely days,15
If thou hadst known ?16
“ If thou hadst known !” Oh, words that breathe of tears17
Across the fields when harvest time is done,18
And languid hands are gleaning scattered ears19
Dropped from the royal sheaves they might have won !20
Would there have been the waste, the want, the pain,21
The empty hearts that feed on dreams alone,22
Haunted by visions of life’s golden grain,23
If they had known !24
If thou hadst known, e’en thou in this thy day25
The things that are belonging to thy peace,26
Thy feet would fail not in the narrow way,27
Thy soul from love and labour would not cease ;28
But One, who wept o’er Salem long ago,29
Watches the chances missed, the blessings flown,30
The Love that made those sacred tear-drops flow31
Has always known.32