University of Virginia Library


344

VAIN WAITING.

The western sky has begun to darken,
The sun has set, and the wind is low;
And waiting alone I sit and hearken
As I used to hearken, ages ago,
For a voice that now the winds know only—
The winds, and the stars, and the vacant night—
A presence that vanished and left me lonely,
Reft of all that was heart's delight.
I wait and listen—no step draws nigh me;
Full your world is—empty is mine;
Only the mocking wind sweeps by me,
And flings me never a word or a sign.