TIME was, beloved, when from this far-off place My words could reach thee, and thine own reply -- Now thou art gone, and my heart's longing cry Pursues thee, as some runner runs his race -- Cleaves like a bird the emptiness of space, And falls back, baffled, from the pitiless sky. Ah, why with thee, so dear, did I not die? Why should I live benighted of thy face? Thou wilt have sped so far before I come -- How shall I ever win to where thou art? Or, if I find thee, shall I not be dumb -- With voiceless longing break my silent heart? Nay! Surely thou wilt read mine eyes, and know That for thy sake all heaven I would forego. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...WAR AND WASHINGTON by JONATHAN MITCHELL SEWALL A MORNING HYMN by CHARLES WESLEY THE PROPHECY OF SAMUEL SEWALL by JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER THE LIP AND THE HEART by JOHN QUINCY ADAMS THE DEATH OF A DANDY by JOHN PEALE BISHOP THE INNER TEMPLE MASQUE by WILLIAM BROWNE (1591-1643) NAPOLEON'S TOMB by DANA BURNET OBSERVATIONS IN THE ART OF ENGLISH POESY: 14. TROCHAIC VERSE: THE TENTH EPIGRAM by THOMAS CAMPION |