Poem 36

Dost thou remember ever, for my sake,When we two rowed upon the rock-bound lake?How the wind-fretted waters blew their sprayAbout our brows like blossom-falls of MayOne memorable day?

Dost thou remember the glad mouth that cried—"Were it not sweet to die now side by side,To lie together tangled in the deepClose as the heart-beat to the heart—so keepThe everlasting sleep?"

Dost thou remember? Ah, such death as thisHad set the seal upon my heart's young bliss!But, wrenched asunder, severed and apart,Life knew a deadlier death: the blighting smartWhich only kills the heart.