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diff --git a/18351-8.txt b/18351-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e937611 --- /dev/null +++ b/18351-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1803 @@ +Project Gutenberg's A Woman's Love Letters, by Sophie M. Almon-Hensley + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: A Woman's Love Letters + +Author: Sophie M. Almon-Hensley + +Release Date: May 8, 2006 [EBook #18351] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A WOMAN'S LOVE LETTERS *** + + + + +Produced by Thierry Alberto, Christine D. and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by the Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions +(www.canadiana.org)) + + + + + + + + + + + +The Fleur de Lis Poets. + +A WOMAN'S + +LOVE LETTERS. + +BY SOPHIE M. ALMON-HENSLEY + + + + NEW YORK. J. SELWIN TAIT + AND SONS, NUMBER SIXTY-FIVE + FIFTH AVENUE. + + + + +COPYRIGHT, 1895 + + BY + J. SELWIN TAIT & SONS + NEW YORK + + + +CONTENTS. + + A Dream, 1 + Dream-Song, 8 + Doubt, 9 + Song, 13 + Anticipation, 14 + Song, 18 + Misunderstanding, 19 + Shadow-Song, 23 + Revulsion, 24 + A Song of Dawn, 27 + Weariness, 28 + A Song of Rest, 31 + Death, 33 + Battle-Song, 38 + Content, 39 + Sea-Song, 42 + Gratitude, 44 + Song, 48 + Prayer, 49 + Song, 53 + Loneliness, 54 + Sea-Song, 57 + Incompleteness, 59 + Song, 65 + Life's Joys, 65 + Song, 70 + Barter, 72 + Song, 76 + To-morrow, 78 + Song, 82 + + + + +A Dream. + + I stood far off above the haunts of men + Somewhere, I know not, when the sky was dim + From some worn glory, and the morning hymn + Of the gay oriole echoed from the glen. + Wandering, I felt earth's peace, nor knew I sought + A visioned face, a voice the wind had caught. + + I passed the waking things that stirred and gazed, + Thought-bound, and heeded not; the waking flowers + Drank in the morning mist, dawn's tender showers, + And looked forth for the Day-god who had blazed + His heart away and died at sundown. Far + In the gray west faded a loitering star. + + It seemed that I had wandered through long years, + A life of years, still seeking gropingly + A thing I dared not name; now I could see + In the still dawn a hope, in the soft tears + Of the deep-hearted violets a breath + Of kinship, like the herald voice of Death. + + Slow moved the morning; where the hill was bare + Woke a reluctant breeze. Dimly I knew + My Day was come. The wind-blown blossoms threw + Their breath about me, and the pine-swept air + Grew to a shape, a mighty, formless thing, + A phantom of the wood's imagining. + + And as I gazed, spell-bound, it seemed to move + Its tendril limbs, still swaying tremulously + As if in spirit-doubt; then glad and free + Crystalled the being won from waiting grove + Into a human likeness. There he stood, + The vine-browed shape of Nature's mortal mood. + + "Now have I found thee, Vision I have sought + These years, unknowing; surely thou art fair + And inly wise, and on thy tasselled hair + Glows Heaven's own light. Passion and fame are naught + To thy clear eyes, O Prince of many lands,-- + Grant me thy joy," I cried, and stretched my hands. + + No answer but the flourish of the breeze + Through the black pines. Then, slowly, as the wind + Parts the dense cloud-forms, leaving naught behind + But shapeless vapor, through the budding trees + Drifted some force unseen, and from my sight + Faded my god into the morning light. + + Again alone. With wistful, straining eyes + I waited, and the sunshine flecked the bank + Happy with arbutus and violets where I sank + Hearing, near by, a host of melodies, + The rapture of the woodthrush; soft her mood + The love-mate, with such golden numbers woo'd. + + He ceased; the fresh moss-odors filled the grove + With a strange sweetness, the dark hemlock boughs + Moved soft, as though they heard the brooklet rouse + To its spring soul, and whisper low of love. + The white-robed birches stood unbendingly + Like royal maids, in proud expectancy. + + Athwart the ramage where the young leaves press + It came to me, ah, call it what you will + Vision or waking dream, I see it still! + Again a form born of the woodland stress + Grew to my gaze, and by some secret sign + Though shadow-hid, I knew the form was thine. + + The glancing sunlight made thy ruddy hair + A crown of gold, but on thy spirit-face + There was no smile, only a tender grace + Of love half doubt. Upon thy hand a rare + Wild bird of Paradise perched fearlessly + With radiant plumage and still, lustrous eye. + + And as I gazed I saw what I had deemed + A shadow near thy hand, a dusky wing, + A bird like last year's leaves, so dull a thing + Beside its fellow; as the sunshine gleamed + Each breast showed letters bright as crystalled rain, + The fair bird bore "Delight," the other "Pain." + + Then came thy voice: "O Love, wilt have my gift?" + I stretched my glad hands eagerly to grasp + The heaven-blown bird, gold-hued, and longed to clasp + It close and know it mine. Ere I might lift + The shining thing and hold it to my breast + Again I heard thy voice with vague unrest. + + "These are twin birds and may not parted be." + Full in thine eyes I gazed, and read therein + The paradox of life, of love, of sin, + As on a night of cloud and mystery + One darting flash makes bright the hidden ways, + And feet tread knowingly though thick the haze. + + Thy gift, if so I chose,--no other hand + Save thine.--I reached and gathered to my heart + The quivering, sentient things.--Sometimes I start + To know them hidden there.--If I should stand + Idly, some day, and _one_,--God help me!--breast + A homing breeze,--my _brown_ bird knows _its_ nest. + + + + +Dream-Song. + + Cam'st thou not nigh to me + In that one glimpse of thee + When thy lips, tremblingly, + Said: "My Beloved." + 'Twas but a moment's space, + And in that crowded place + I dared not scan thy face + O! my Beloved. + + Yet there may come a time + (Though loving be a crime + Only allowed in rhyme + To us, Beloved), + When safe 'neath sheltering arm + I may, without alarm, + Hear thy lips, close and warm, + Murmur: "Beloved!" + + + + +Doubt. + + I do not know if all the fault be mine, + Or why I may not think of thee and be + At peace with mine own heart. Unceasingly + Grim doubts beset me, bygone words of thine + Take subtle meaning, and I cannot rest + Till all my fears and follies are confessed. + + Perhaps the wild wind's questioning has brought + My heart its melancholy, for, alone + In the night stillness, I can hear him moan + In sobbing gusts, as though he vainly sought + Some bygone bliss. Against the dripping pane + In storm-blown torrents beats the driving rain. + + Nay I will tell thee all, I will not hide + One thought from thee, and if I do thee wrong + So much the more must I be brave and strong + To show my fault. And if thou then shouldst chide + I will accept reproof most willingly + So it but bringeth peace to thee and me. + + I dread thy past. Phantoms of other days + Pursue my vision. There are other hands + Which thou hast held, perchance some slender bands + That draw thee still to other woodland ways + Than those which _we_ have known, some blissful hours + I do not share, of love, and June, and flowers. + + I dread her most, that woman whom thou knewest + Those years ago,--I cannot bear to think + That she can say: "My lover praised the pink + Of palm, or ear," "The violets were bluest + In that dear copse," and dream of some fair day + When thou didst while her summer hours away. + + I dread them too, those light loves and desires + That lie in the dim shadow of the years; + I fain would cheat myself of all my fears + And, as a child watching warm winter fires, + Dream not of yesterday's black embers, nor + To-morrow's ashes that may strew the floor. + + I did not dream of this while thou wert near, + But now the thought that haunts me day by day + Is that the things I love, the tender way + Of mastery, the kisses that are dear + As Heaven's best gifts, to other lips and arms + Owe half their blessedness and all their charms. + + Tell me that I am wrong, O! Man of men, + Surely it is not hard to comfort me, + Laugh at my fears with dear persistency, + Nay, if thou must, lie to me! There, again, + I hear the rain, and the wind's wailing cry + Stirs with wild life the night's monotony. + + + + +Song. + + If I had known + That when the morrow dawned the roses would be dead + I would have filled my hands with blossoms white and red. + If I had known! + + If I had known + That I should be to-day deaf to all happy birds + I would have lain for hours to listen to your words. + If I had known! + + If I had known + That with the morning light you would be gone for aye + I would have been more kind;--sweet Love had won his way + If I had known. + + + + +Anticipation. + + Let us peer forward through the dusk of years + And force the silent future to reveal + Her store of garnered joys; we may not kneel + For ever, and entreat our bliss with tears. + Somewhere on this drear earth the sunshine lies, + Somewhere the air breathes Heaven-blown harmonies. + + Some day when you and I have fully learned + Our waiting-lesson, wondering, hand in hand + We shall gaze out upon an unknown land, + Our thoughts and our desires forever turned + From our old griefs, as swallows, home warding, + Sweep ever southward with unwearied wing. + + We shall fare forth, comrades for evermore. + Though the ill-omened bird Time loves to bear + Has brushed this cheek and left an impress there + I shall be fierce and dauntless as of yore, + Free as a bird o'er the wide world to rove, + And strong and fearless, O my Love, to love. + + What have we now? The haunting, vague unrest + Of incompleted measures; and we dream + Vainly, of the Musician and His theme, + How the great Master in a day most blest + Shall strike some mighty chords in harmony, + And make an end, and set the music free! + + We snatch from Fate our moments of delight, + Few as, in April hours, the wooing calls + Of orioles, or when the twilight falls + First o'er the forest ere the approach of night + The eyes of evening;--and Love's song is sung + But once, Dear Heart, but once, and we are young. + + Over the seas together, you and I, + 'Neath blue Italian skies, or on the hills + Of storied Greece,--where the warm sunlight fills + Spain's mellow vineyards,--wandering reverently + O'er the green plains of Palestine,--our days + A golden holiday in Old World ways. + + Yet would we linger not by southern shores; + The bracing breath of Scandinavian snows + Would draw us from our dreams. The North wind blows + Upon thy cheek, my Norseman, and the roars + Of the wild Baltic sound within my ears + When to my dreams thy stalwart form appears. + + This will the future bring. See! Thou hast given + From out the fulness of thy strength and will + This courage to me. Though the rugged hill + Looms high, and fronts our vision, yet our heaven + (I see it when I sleep) with portals wide + And shining towers, gleams on the farther side. + + + + +Song. + + "Tshirr!" scolds the oriole + Where the elms stir, + Flaunting her gourd-like nest + On the tree's swaying crest: + "May's here, I cannot rest, + Go away; tshirr!" + + "Tshirr!" scolds the oriole + Where the leaves blur, + Giving her threads a jerk, + Spying where rivals lurk, + "May's here, and I'm at work. + Go away, tshirr!" + + + + +Misunderstanding. + + Spring's face is wreathed in smiles. She had been driven + Hither and thither at the surly will + Of treacherous winds till her sweet heart was chill. + Into her grasp the sceptre has been given + And now she touches with a proud young hand + The earth, and turns to blossoms all the land. + + We catch the smile, the joyousness, the pride, + And share them with her. Surely winter gloom + Is for the old, and frost is for the tomb. + Youth must have pleasure, and the tremulous tide + Of sun-kissed waves, and all the golden fire + Of Summer's noontide splendor of desire. + + I have forgotten,--for the breath of buds + Is on my temples, if in former days + I have known sorrow; I remember praise, + And calm content, and joy's great ocean-floods, + And many dreams so sweet that, in their place, + We would not welcome even Truth's fair face. + + O Man to whom my heart hast leaned, dost know + Aught of my life? Sometimes a strong despair + Enters my soul and finds a lodging there; + Thou dost not know me, and the years will go + As these last months have gone, and I shall be + Still far, still a strange woman unto thee. + + I do not blame thee. If there is a fault + Let it be mine, for surely had I tried + The door of my heart's home to open wide + No need had been for even Love's assault. + And yet, methinks, somewhere there is a key + Thou mightest have found, and entered happily. + + I am no saint niched in a hallowed wall + For men to worship, but I would compel + A level gaze. You teachers who would tell + A woman's place I do defy you all! + While justice lives, and love with joy is crowned + Woman and man must meet on equal ground. + + The deepest wrong is falsehood. She who sells + Her soul and body for a little gain + In ease, or the world's notice, has a stain + Upon her soul no lighter for the bells + Of marriage rites, and purer far is she + Who gives her all for love's sad ecstasy. + + Canst thou not understand a nature strong + And passionate, with impulses that sway, + With yearning tenderness that must have way, + Yet knows no ill desire, no touch of wrong? + If thou canst not then in God's name I pray + See me no more forever from this day. + + + + +Shadow Song. + + The night is long + And there are no stars,-- + Let me but dream + That the long fields gleam + With sunlight and song, + Then I shall not long + For the light of stars. + + Let me but dream,-- + For there are no stars,-- + Dream that the ache + And the wild heart-break + Are but things that seem. + Ah! let me dream + For there are no stars. + + + + +Revulsion. + + I see the starting buds, I catch the gleam + In the near distance of a sun-kissed pool, + The blessed April air blows soft and cool, + Small wonder if all sorrow grows a dream, + And we forget that close around us lie + A city's poor, a city's misery. + + Of every outward vision there is some + Internal counterpart. To-day I know + The blessedness of living, and the glow + Of life's dear spring-tide. I can bid thee come + In thought and wander where the fields are fair + With bursting life, and I, rejoicing, there. + + Yet have I passed, Beloved, through the vale + Of dark dismay, and felt the dews of death + Upon my brow, have measured out my breath + Counting my hours of joy, as misers quail + At every footfall in the quiet night + And clutch their gold and count it in affright. + + I learned new lessons in that school of fear, + Life took a fresh perspective; sad and brave + The view is from the threshold of the grave. + In that long, backward glance I saw her clear + From fogs of gathering night, and all the show + Of small things that seemed great a while ago. + + Our dreams of fame, the stubborn power we call + Our self-respect, our hopes of worldly good, + Our jealousies and fears, how in the flood + Of this new light they faded, poor and small; + Showing our pettiness beside God's truth, + Besides His age our poor, unlearned youth. + + The earth yearns forth, impatient for the days + Of its maturity, the ample sweets + Of Summer's fulness; and its great heart beats + With a fierce restlessness, for Spring delays + Seeing her giddy reign end all too soon, + Her bud-crown ravished by the hand of June. + + And I,--I shall be happy,--promise me + This one small thing, Beloved, for I long + For happiness as the caged bird for song. + Not where four walls close in the melody + I want the fresh, sweet air, the water's gush, + The strong, sane life with thee, the summer hush. + + + + +A Song of Dawn. + + In the east a lightening; + Where the woods are chill + Moves an unseen finger, + Wakes a sudden thrill; + + In my soul a glimmer, + Hush! no words are heard! + In heart-ambush hidden + Chirrup of a bird; + + Tremble heart and forest + Like a frightened fawn, + Gleam the distant tree-tops, + Hither comes the dawn! + + + + +Weariness. + + This April sun has wakened into cheer + The wintry paths of thought, and tinged with gold + These threadbare leaves of fancy brown and old. + This is for us the wakening of the year + And May's sweet breath will draw the waiting soul + To where in distance lies the longed-for goal. + + The summer life will still all questioning, + The leaves will whisper peace, and calm will be + The wild, vast, blue, illimitable sea. + And we shall hush our murmurings, and bring + To Nature, green below and blue above, + A whole life's worshipping, a whole life's love. + + We will not speak of sometime fretting fears, + We will not think of aught that may arise + In future hours to cloud our golden skies. + Some souls there are who love their woes and tears, + Gaining their joy by contrast, but for thee + And me, Beloved, peace is ecstasy. + + It was not always so, there was a time + When I would choose the rocky mountain way, + And climb the hills of doubt to find the day. + Fresh effort brought fresh zest, and winter's rime + Chilled not but crowned endeavor, and the heat + Of summer thrilled, and made the pulses beat. + + But now I am so weary that I turn + From labor with a shudder, and from pain + As from an enemy; I see no gain + In suffering, and cleansing fires must burn + As keenly as desire, so let me know + Quiet with thee, and twilight's afterglow. + + I, who have boasted of my strength and will, + And ventured daring flights, and stood alone + In fearless, flushed defiance, I have grown + Humble, and seek another hand to fill + Life's cup, and other eyes to pierce the skies + Of Wisdom's dear, sad, mighty mysteries. + + Ah! I will lie so quiet in thine arms + I will not stir thee; and thy whisperings + Shall teach me patience, and so many things + I have not learned as yet. And all alarms + Will melt in peace when, safe from tempest's rage + My wind-tossed ship has found its anchorage. + + + + +A Song of Rest. + + The world may rage without, + Quiet is here; + Statesmen may toil and shout, + Cynics may sneer; + The great world--let it go-- + June warmth be March's snow, + I care not--be it so + Since I am here. + + Time was when war's alarm + Called for a fear, + When sorrow's seeming harm + Hastened a tear; + Naught care I now what foe + Threatens, for scarce I know + How the year's seasons go + Since I am here. + + This is my resting-place + Holy and dear, + Where Pain's dejected face + May not appear. + This is the world to me, + Earth's woes I will not see + But rest contentedly + Since I am here. + + Is't your voice chiding, Love, + My mild career? + My meek abiding, Love, + Daily so near? + "Danger and loss" to me? + Ah, Sweet, I fear to see + No loss but loss of _Thee_ + And I am here. + + + + +Death. + + If days should pass without a written word + To tell me of thy welfare, and if days + Should lengthen out to weeks, until the maze + Of questioning fears confused me, and I heard. + Life-sounds as echoes; and one came and said + After these weeks of waiting: "He is dead!" + + Though the quick sword had found the vital part, + And the life-blood must mingle with the tears, + I think that, as the dying soldier hears + The cries of victory, and feels his heart + Surge with his country's triumph-hour, I could + Hope bravely on, and feel that God was good. + + I could take up my thread of life again + And weave my pattern though the colors were + Faded forever. Though I might not dare + Dream often of thee, I should know that when + Death came to thee upon thy lips my name + Lingered, and lingers ever without blame. + + Aye, lingers ever. Though we may not know + Much that our spirits crave, yet is it given + To us to feel that in the waiting Heaven + Great souls are greater, and if God bestow + A mighty love He will not let it die + Through the vast ages of eternity. + + But if some day the bitter knowledge swept + Down on my life,--bearing my treasured freight + To founder on the shoals of scorn,--what Fate + Smiling with awful irony had kept + Till life grew sweeter,--that my god was clay, + That 'neath thy strength a lurking weakness lay; + + That thou, whom I had deemed a man of men + Faulty, as great men are, but with no taint + Of baseness,--with those faults that shew the saint + Of after days, perhaps,--wert even then + When first I loved thee but a spreading tree + Whose leaves shewed not its roots' deformity; + + I should not weep, for there are wounds that lie + Too deep for tears,--and Death is but a friend + Who loves too dearly, and the parting end + Of Love's joy-day a paltry pain, a cry + To God, then peace,--beside the torturing grief + When honor dies, and trust, and soul's belief. + + Travellers have told that in the Java isles + The upas-tree breathes its dread vapor out + Into the air; there needs no hand about + Its branches for the poison's deadly wiles + To work a strong man's hurt, for there is death + Envenomed, noisome, in his every breath. + + So would I breathe thy poison in my soul, + Till all that had been wholesome, pure, and true + Shewed its decay, and stained and wasted grew. + Though sundered as the distant Northern Pole + From his far sister, I should bear thy blight + Upon me as I passed into the night. + + Didst dream thy truth and honor meant so much + To me, Dear Heart? Oh! I am full of tears + To-night, of longing, love and foolish fears. + Would I might see thee, know thy tender touch, + For Time is long, and though I may not will + To question Fate, I am a woman still. + + + + +Battle Song. + + Clear sounds the call on high: + "To arms and victory!" + Brave hearts that win or die, + Dying, may win; + Proudly the banners wave, + What though the goal's the grave? + Death cannot harm the brave,-- + Through death they win. + + Softly the evening hush + Stilling strife's maddened rush + Cools the fierce battle flush,-- + See the day die; + A thousand faces white + Mirror the cold moonlight + And glassy eyes are bright + With Victory. + + + + +Content. + + I have been wandering where the daisies grow, + Great fields of tall, white daisies, and I saw + Them bend reluctantly, and seem to draw + Away in pride when the fresh breeze would blow + From timothy and yellow buttercup, + So by their fearless beauty lifted up. + + Yet must they bend at the strong breeze's will, + Bright, flawless things, whether in wrath he sweep + Or, as oftimes, in mood caressing, creep + Over the meadows and adown the hill. + So Love in sport or truth, as Fates allow, + Blows over proud young hearts, and bids them bow. + + So beautiful is it to live, so sweet + To hear the ripple of the bobolink, + To smell the clover blossoms white and pink, + To feel oneself far from the dusty street, + From dusty souls, from all the flare and fret + Of living, and the fever of regret. + + I have grown younger; I can scarce believe + It is the same sad woman full of dreams + Of seven short weeks ago, for now it seems + I am a child again, and can deceive + My soul with daisies, plucking one by one + The petals dazzling in the noonday sun. + + Almost with old-time eagerness I try + My fate, and say: "un peu," a soft "beaucoup," + Then, lower, "passionément, pas du tout;" + Quick the white petals fall, and lovingly + I pluck the last, and drop with tender touch + The knowing daisy, for he loves me "much." + + I can remember how, in childish days, + I deemed that he who held my heart in thrall + Must love me "passionately" or "not at all." + Poor little wilful ignorant heart that prays + It knows not what, and heedlessly demands + The best that life can give with out-stretched hands! + + Now I am wiser, and have learned to prize + Peace above passion, and the summer life + Here with the flowers above the ceaseless strife + Of armed ambitions. They alone are wise + Who know the daisy-secrets, and can hold + Fast in their eager hands her heart of gold. + + + + +Sea-Song. + + A dash of spray, + A weed-browned way,-- + My ship's in the bay, + In the glad blue bay,-- + The wind's from the west + And the waves have a crest, + But my bird's in the nest + And my ship's in the bay! + + At dawn to stand + Soft hand to hand, + Bare feet on the sand,-- + On the hard brown sand,-- + To wait, dew-crowned, + For the tarrying sound + Of a keel that will ground + On the scraping sand. + + A glad surprise + In the wind-swept skies + Of my wee one's eyes,-- + Those wondering eyes. + He will come, my sweet, + And will haste to meet + Those hurrying feet + And those sea-blue eyes. + + I know the day + Must weary away, + And my ship's in the bay,-- + In the clear, blue bay,-- + Ah! there's wind in the west, + For the waves have a crest, + But my bird's in the nest + And my ship's in the bay! + + + + +Gratitude. + + There are some things, dear Friend, are easier far + To say in written words than when we sit + Eye answering eye, or hand to hand close knit. + Not that there is between us any bar + Of shyness or reserve; the day is past + For that, and utter trust has come at last. + + Only, when shut alone and safe inside + These four white walls,--hearing no sound except + Our own heart-beatings, silences have crept + Stealthily round us,--as the incoming tide + Quiet and unperceived creeps ever on + Till mound and pebble, rock and reef are gone. + + Or out on the green hillside, even there + There is a hush, and words and thoughts are still. + For the trees speak, and myriad voices fill + With wondrous echoes all the waiting air. + We listen, and in listening must forget + Our own hearts' murmur, and our spirits' fret; + + Even our joys,--thou knowest;--when the air + Is full to overflowing with the sense + Of hope fulfilled and passion's vehemence. + There is no place for words; we do not dare + To break Love's stillness, even though the power + Were ours by speech to lengthen out the hour. + + But here in quietness I can recall + All I would tell thee, how thou art to me + Impulse and inspiration, and with thee + I can but smile though all my idols fall. + I wait my meed as others who have known + Patience till to their utmost stature grown. + + As when the heavens are draped in gloomy gray + And earth is tremulous with a vague unrest + A glory fills the tender, troubled West + That glads the closing of November's day, + So breaks in sun-smiles my beclouded sky + When day is over and I know thee nigh. + + Thou art so much, all this and more, to me, + And what am I to thee? Can I repay + These many gifts? Is there no royal way + Of recompense, so I may proudly see + The man my heart delights to praise renowned + For wealth and honor, and with rapture crowned? + + Ah! though there is no recompense in love + Yet have I paid thee, given these gifts to thee, + Joy, riches, worship. Thou hast joy in me, + Is it not so, Beloved? Who shall prove + No worship of thee by my soul confessed? + And riches? Ah! a wealth of love is best. + + + + +Song. + + I have known a thousand pleasures,-- + Love is best-- + Ocean's songs and forest treasures, + Work and rest, + Jewelled joys of dear existence, + Triumph over Fate's resistance, + But to prove, through Time's wide distance, + Love is best. + + + + +Prayer. + + I stood upon a hill, and watched the death + Of the day's turmoil. Still the glory spread + Cloud-top to cloud-top, and each rearing head + Trembled to crimson. So a mighty breath + From some wild Titan in a rising ire + Might kindle flame in voicing his desire. + + Soft stirred the evening air; the pine-crowned hills + Glowed in an answering rapture where the flush + Grew to a blood-drop, and the vesper hush + Moved in my soul, while from my life all ills + Faded and passed away. God's voice was there + And in my heart the silence was a prayer. + + There was a day when to my fearfulness + Was born a joy, when doubt was swept afar + A shadow and a memory, and a star + Gleamed in my sky more bright for the distress. + The stillness breathed thanksgiving, and the air + Wafted, methought, the incense of a prayer. + + Heaven sets no bounds of bead-roll or appeal; + And when the fiery heart with mute embrace + Bends, tremblingly, but for a moment's space + It needs no words that cry, no limbs that kneel. + As meteors flash, so, in a moment's light, + Life, darting forth, touches the Infinite. + + All my prayers wordless? Nay, I can recall + A night not so long past but that each thought + Lives at this hour, and throbs again unsought + When Silence broods, and Night's chill shadows fall; + Then Darkness' thousand pulses thrilled and stirred + With the dear grace of a remembered word; + + And I was still, thy voice enshrouding me. + Like the strong sweep of ocean-breath the power + Of one resistless thought transformed my hour + Of love-dreams to a fear. All hopelessly + I knew love's impotence, and my despair + Stretched soul-hands forth, and quivered to a prayer. + + My passionate heart cried out: "If his dear life + Through stress of keen temptation merits aught + Of penance or requital, be it wrought + Upon _my_ life. If only through the strife + Is won the peace, through drudgery the gain, + Give him the issue, and to me the pain!" + + Some day, in our soul's course o'er trackless lands, + Swayed oft by adverse winds, or swept along + In Fate's wild current with the fluttering throng + Towards Sin's engulfing maelstrom, spirit hands + Will brace our trembling wings, and through the night + Point and upbear in our last trembling flight. + + + + +Song. + + Red gleams the mountain ridge, + Slow the stream creeps + Under the old bent bridge, + And labor sleeps. + + There are no restless birds, + No leaves that stir, + Dusk her gray mantle girds, + Night's harbinger. + + The storm-soul's change and start + Pause, lull, and cease; + In my unquiet heart + Is born a peace. + + + + +Loneliness. + + Dear, I am lonely, for the bay is still + As any hill-girt lake; the long brown beach + Lies bare and wet. As far as eye can reach + There is no motion. Even on the hill + Where the breeze loves to wander I can see + No stir of leaves, nor any waving tree. + + There is a great red cliff that fronts my view + A bare, unsightly thing; it angers me + With its unswerving-grim monotony. + The mackerel weir, with branching boughs askew + Stands like a fire-swept forest, while the sea + Laps it, with soothing sighs, continually. + + There are no tempests in this sheltered bay, + The stillness frets me, and I long to be + Where winds sweep strong and blow tempestuously, + To stand upon some hill-top far away + And face a gathering gale, and let the stress + Of Nature's mood subdue my restlessness. + + An impulse seizes me, a mad desire + To tear away that red-browed cliff, to sweep + Its crest of trees and huts into the deep; + To force a gap by axe, or storm, or fire, + And let rush in with motion glad and free + The rolling waves of the wild wondrous sea. + + Sometimes I wonder if I am the child + Of calm, law-loving parents, or a stray + From some wild gypsy camp. I cannot stay + Quiet among my fellows; when this wild + Longing for freedom takes me I must fly + To my dear woods and know my liberty. + + It is this cringing to a social law + That I despise, these changing, senseless forms + Of fashion! And until a thousand storms + Of God's impatience shall reveal the flaw + In man's pet system, he will weave the spell + About his heart and dream that all is well. + + Ah! Life is hard, Dear Heart, for I am left + To battle with my old-time fears alone + I must live calmly on, and make no moan + Though of my hoped-for happiness bereft. + Thou wilt not come, and still the red cliff lies + Hiding my ocean from these longing eyes. + + + + +Sea-Song. + + It sings to me, it sings to me, + The shore-blown voice of the blithesome sea! + Of its world of gladness all untold, + Of its heart of green, and its mines of gold, + And desires that leap and flee. + + It moans to me, it moans to me! + The storm-stirred voice of the restive sea! + Of the vain dismay and the yearning pain + For hopes that will never be born again + From the womb of the wavering sea. + + It calls to me, it calls to me, + The luring voice of the rebel sea! + And I long with a love that is born of tears + For the wild fresh life, and the glorying fears, + For the quest and the mystery. + + It wails to me, it wails to me, + Of the deep dark graves in the yawning sea; + And I hear the voice of a boy that is gone. + But the lad sleeps sound till the judgment-dawn + In the heart of the wind-swept sea. + + + + +Incompleteness. + + Since first I met thee, Dear, and long before + I knew myself beloved, save by the sense + All women have, a shadowy confidence + Half-fear, that _feels_ its bliss nor asks for more, + I have learned new desires, known Love's distress + Sounded the deepest depths of loneliness. + + I was a child at heart, and lived alone, + Dreaming my dreams, as children may, at whiles, + Between their hours of play, and Earth's broad smiles + Allured my heart, and ocean's marvellous tone + Woke no strange echoes, and the woods' complain + Made chants sonorous, stirred no thoughts of pain. + + And if, sometimes, dear Nature spoke to me + In tones mysterious, I had learned so much + Dwelling beside her daily, that her touch + Made me discerning. Though I might not see + Her purpose nor her meaning, I had part + In the proud throbbing of that mighty heart. + + But now the earth has put a tiring-cloth + About her face; even in the mountains' cheer + There is a lack, and in the sea a fear, + The glad, rash sea, whose every mood, if wroth + Or soothing mild, is dear to me as are + Joy's new-born kisses on the lips of Care. + + Since I have known thee, Dear, all life has grown + An expectation. As the swelling grain + Trembles to harvesting, and earth in pain + Travails till Spring is born, so felt alone + Is the dumb reaching out of things unborn, + The night's gray promise of the amber morn. + + I long to taste my pleasures through thy lips, + To sail with thee o'er foaming waves and feel + Our spirits rise together with the reel + Of waters and the wavering land's eclipse; + To see thy fair hair damp with salt sea-spray + And in thine eyes the wildness of the way. + + I long to share my woods with thee, to fly + To some black-hearted forest where the trail + Of mortals lingers not,--to hear the gale. + Sweep round us with a shuddering ecstasy, + To feel, night's tumult passed, the cool soft hand + Of the untroubled dawn move o'er the land. + + To swim with thee far out into the bay, + A trembling glitter on the waves, the shore + Glowing with noontide fervor, nevermore + To fear the treacherous depths, though long the way. + Sweet beyond words the sighs that breathe and blow, + The moist salt kisses, and the glad warm glow. + + And when the unrest, the vague desires that rush + Over our lives and may not be denied,-- + Gone in the tasting,--lure us where the tide + Of men sweeps on, let us forget the hush + Together, and in city madness drain + Our cup of pleasure to its dregs of pain. + + Ever I need thee. Incomplete and poor + This life of mine. Yet never dream my soul + Craves the old peace. Till I may have the whole + My joy is my abiding, and what more + Of dreams and waking bliss the Fates allow + Comes as a gift of Love's great overflow. + + + + +Song. + + Deep in the green bracken lying, + Close by the welcoming sea, + Dream I, and let all my dreaming + Drift as it will, Love, to thee. + + Sated with splendid caresses + Showered by the sun in his pride, + Scorched by his passionate kisses + Languidly ebbs the tide. + + + + +Life's Joys. + + I have been pondering what our teachers call + The mystery of Pain; and lo! my thought + After it's half-blind reaching out has caught + This truth and held it fast. We may not fall + Beyond our mounting; stung by life's annoy, + Deeper we feel the mystery of Joy. + + Sometimes they steal across us like a breath + Of Eastern perfume in a darkened room, + These joys of ours; we grope on through the gloom + Seeking some common thing, and from its sheath + Unloose, unknowing, some bewildering scent + Of spice-thronged memories of the Orient. + + Sometimes they dart across our turbid sky + Like a quick flash after a heated day. + A moment, where the sombrous shadows lay + We see a glory. Though it passed us by + No earthly power can filch that dazzling glow + From memory's eye, that instant's shine and show. + + Life is so full of joys. The alluring sea, + This morning clear and placid, may, ere night, + Toss like a petulant child, and when the light + Of a new morning dawns sweep grand and free + A mighty power. If fierce, or mild, or bright, + With every tide flows in a fresh delight. + + I can remember well when first I knew + The fragrance of white clover. There I lay + On the warm July grass and heard the play + Of sun-browned insects, and the breezes blew + To my drowsed sense the scent the blossoms had; + The subtle sweetness stayed, and I was glad. + + Nor passed the gladness. Though the years have gone + (A many years, Beloved, since that day,) + Whenever by the roadside or away + In radiant summer fields, wandering alone + Or with glad children, to my restless sight + Shows that pale head, comes back the old delight. + + Oh! the dark water, and the filling sail! + The scudding like a sea-mew, with the hand + Firm on the tiller! See, the red-shored land + Receding, as we brave the hastening gale! + White gleam the wave-tops, and the breakers' roar + Sounds thunderingly on the far distant shore. + + This mad hair flying in the breeze blows wild + Across my face. See, there, the gathering squall, + That dark line to the eastward, watch it crawl + Stealthily towards us o'er the snow-wreaths piled + Close on each other! Ah! what joy to be + Drunk with salt air, in battle with the sea! + + So many joys, and yet I have but told + Of simple things, the joys of air and sea! + Not all these things are worth one hour with thee, + One moment, when thy daring arms enfold + My body, and all other, meaner joys, + Fade from me like a child's forgotten toys. + + One thought is ever with me, glorying all + Life's common aims. Surely will dawn a day + Bright with an unknown rapture, when thy way + Will be _my_ journey-road, and I can call + These joys _our_ joys, for thou wilt walk with me + Down budding pathways to the abounding sea. + + + + +Song. + + Low laughed the Columbine, + Trembled her petals fine + As the breeze blew; + In her dove-heart there stirred + Murmurs the dull bee heard, + And Love, Life's wild white bird, + Straightway she knew. + + Resting her lilac cheek + Gently, in aspect meek, + On the gray stone, + The morning-glory, free, + Welcomed the yellow bee, + Heard the near-rolling sea + Murmur and moan. + + Calm lay the tawny sand + Stretching a long wet hand + To the far wave. + Swift to her warm waiting breast + Longing to be possessed + Leaps 'neath his billowy crest + Her Lover brave. + + + + +Barter + + There is a long thin line of fading gold + In the far West, and the transfigured leaves + On some slight, topmost bough that sways and heaves + Hang limp and tremulous. Nor warm, nor cold + The pungent air, and, 'neath the yellow haze, + Show flushed and glad the wild, October ways. + + There is a soft enchantment in the air, + A mystery the Summer knows not, nor + The sturdy, frost-crowned Winter. Nature wore + Her blandest smile to-day, as here and there + I wandered, elf-beset, through wood and field + And gleaned the glories of the autumn yield. + + A bunch of purple aster, golden-rod + Darkened by the first frost, a drooping spray + Of scarlet barberry, and tall and gray + The silk-cored cotton with its bursting pod, + Some tarnished maple-boughs, and, like a flash + Of sudden flame, a branch of mountain ash. + + She smiled, but it was not the welcoming smile + Of frank surrender. As a witching maid + In gorgeous garments cunningly arrayed + Might smile and draw them closer, hers the guile + To let men hope, pray, labor in love's stress + Ere they her hidden beauties may possess. + + Deep in the heart of earth where the springs rise, + Down with the sweet linnæa and the moss, + In the brown thrush's throat, where the pines toss + In Winter's harrying storms her secret lies. + Ours the chill night-dews and the waiting pain + Ere we her fairy wealth may hope to gain. + + 'Tis so with knowledge. Eagerly we turn + Great Wisdom's page, and when our clear eyes grow + Dim in the dusk of years, and heads bend low + Weary at last, the truth we strove to learn + Is ours forever. But its joy of sight + Is dearly bought, methinks, with Youth's delight. + + Fate, too, with chaffering voice and beckoning hand + Doles out our happiness; we snatch at wealth + And pay with anxious care and fading health. + We call for Love, and dream that we shall stand + On ground enchanted, but, though sweet the way, + The rocks are sharp, and grief comes with the Day. + + Even in love, Dear Heart, there is exchange + Of gifts and griefs, and so I render thee + Vows for thy vows, and pay unfalteringly + What love demands, nor ever deem it strange. + And when the snow drifts fast, and north-winds sting + I make no murmur, but await the Spring. + + + + +Song. + + Joy came in youth as a humming-bird, + (Sing hey! for the honey and bloom of life!) + And it made a home in my summer bower + With the honeysuckle and the sweet-pea flower. + (Sing hey! for the blossoms and sweets of life!) + + Joy came as a lark when the years had gone, + (Ah! hush, hush still, for the dream is short!) + And I gazed far up to the melting blue + Where the rare song dropped like a golden dew. + (Ah! sweet is the song tho' the dream be short!) + + Joy hovers now in a far-off mist, + (The night draws on and the air breathes snow!) + And I reach, sometimes, with a trembling hand + To the red-tipped cloud of the joy-bird's land. + (Alas! for the days of the storm and the snow!) + + + + +To-Morrow. + + But one short night between my Love and me! + I watch the soft-shod dusk creep wistfully + Through the slow-moving curtains, pausing by + And shrouding with its spirit-fingers free + Each well-known chair. There is a growing grace + Of tender magic in this little place. + + Comes through half-opened windows, soft and cool + As Spring's young breath, the vagrant evening air, + My day-worn soul is hushed. I fain would bear + No burdens on my brain to-night, no rule + Of anxious thought; the world has had my tears, + My thoughts, my hopes, my aims these many years; + + This is Thy hour, and I shall sink to sleep + With a glad weariness, to know that when + The new day dawns I shall lay by my pen + Needed no more. If I, perchance, should weep + A few quick tears, so doing, who would guess + 'Twas the last throb of my soul's loneliness? + + Not even thou, Dear Heart, canst ever know + How I have yearned these many months, these years + For love, for thee. As the calm boatman steers + His slender shallop where he fain would go, + Tempests and rocks before, so through the dark + To this dim, far-off day has set my bark. + + To-morrow! I can hear the quick-closed door, + The approaching steps, my pained heart's fluttering, + Thy voice, then Thee! And all the storm and sting + Of bygone griefs are passed forevermore, + Swept from my life as the resistless wind + Scatters the chaff, nor leaves a mote behind. + + As long-imprisoned captives reach the light, + And gaze with greedy eyes on field and tree, + Drinking the beauties of the sky and sea + Half fearful of their bliss; so from the night + Of dreams and shades, half doubting, we awake + And grasp the joy we almost fear to take. + + Thou hidest in thy warm ones my cold hand, + Reading my soul in these unwavering eyes. + Nay, thou hast known my hopes, my agonies + Through written words, and thou canst understand. + I have kept nothing back of all the streams + Of my heart-flowings--doubts, nor fears, nor dreams. + + So long my life has followed no control + But mine own impulse; now, I pray thee, bend + My will to thine, and so, unhindered, tend + My soul's wild garden. I have laid the whole + Bare to thy sowing; and life's precious wine + Is of thy pouring, and thy way is mine. + + + + +Song + + Where is the waiting-time? + Where are the fears? + Gone with the winter's rime, + The bygone years. + + O'er life's plain, lone and vast, + Slow treads the morn, + Night shades have moved and passed, + Joy's day is born. + + + +THE END. + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's A Woman's Love Letters, by Sophie M. 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