University of Virginia Library


73

A SONG OF THE YEARS

Thou art mine for ever, dearest, thou art mine for ever,
Since that hour when in the meadow we two sat together;
Long ago, ah! not so long,—all in the meadow lonely,
Thou by me and I by thee, my one true-love, my only.
Tenderly and truly, dearest, tenderly and truly
We two loved each other then, though each then loved but newly:
Only then we knew not what we now know well and dearly:
But has love with knowledge grown, does nearness bind more nearly?

74

Ah! that young devotion, though to memory fair and tender,
To the love of many years its beauty must surrender:—
By the pangs and tears, the smiles and sweetness known together,
Thou art mine for ever, dearest, thou art mine for ever.