Apart

The homeless wind sweeps up the rackFrom the waste of turbid sea;I shudder to think that dismal wasteLieth 'tween thee and me,Lieth 'tween thee and me,And the dun earth shrouds thy breast;But I know the verdant grass and flowersAre tender of thy rest.

Heavily down on the eerie windBeats the frozen winter rain,—It throbs in the deep, dark forest depthsLike a human heart in pain,Like a human heart in pain,As my own throbs on to-night,Thinking of thee in the cold and dark,And I in the warmth and light.

Never a message cometh to me;Oh, how cruel it seems!Never a word from the lost, lost one!Not even in midnight dreams,Not even in midnight dreams.Oh, could it only be!Send me a token! waken a thrillOf the old-time ecstasy!

Vain it is! wild it is! I will be still.Dead feet never come back!Why should they stray to the world again,Out of the heavenly track?Out of the heavenly track?Ah, sinks my heart like a stone!Thou art resting in paradise,—I am wandering alone!