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BEFORE SAILING, by                    
First Line: "lean closer, darling, let thy tender heart"
Last Line: "we are not sundered, though farewell be said"
Subject(s): Absence;farewell;kisses;love; Separation;isolation;parting


LEAN closer, darling, let thy tender heart
Beat against mine that aches with heavy woe;
Drop thy quick woman's tears to soothe thy smart.
Ah me! that I could ease my sorrow so!
But man must work, sweetheart, and women weep,
So says the song, so runs the world's behest;
Yet time will pass, and tender comfort creep
With hope in company unto thy breast.
Now, ere we part, while yet on lip and cheek
Close kisses linger, clinging, passionate,
There is a farewell word love fain would speak,
A tender thought love labors to translate
In earnest words, whose memory through the years
Shall calm thy soul and dry thy dropping tears.

If in thy garden, when the roses blow,
Or by the shelter of thine evening fire,
In any winter gloom or summer glow,
Thy soul floats seaward with a fond desire
(Fonder and stronger than thy tender use),
Think thou, "One longs for me across the foam;"
And if, sweet-falling like the evening dews,
A special peace enfolds that heart and home,
Then say thou, dear, with softly bated breath,
"In some lone wilderness beyond the sea,
Whether in light of life, or gloom of death,
My lover's spirit speaks to God for me!"
Kiss me, beloved, without doubt or dread;
We are not sundered, though farewell be said.





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