 | The silver bridge and other poems |  |
102
“HADST THOU BEEN HERE.”
Often the simple words return to me,
Pathetic, sad, yet full of faith sincere,
Breathed by the mournful maid of Bethany,
In her deep sorrow and humility,
To him she loved so well—“Hadst thou been here!”
Pathetic, sad, yet full of faith sincere,
Breathed by the mournful maid of Bethany,
In her deep sorrow and humility,
To him she loved so well—“Hadst thou been here!”
For so, O helpful heart, I think of thee,
In thy continued absence, year on year,—
Saying, when loss or grief has come to me,
And I have lacked thy strength so utterly—
“I had not suffered thus, hadst thou been here!”
In thy continued absence, year on year,—
Saying, when loss or grief has come to me,
And I have lacked thy strength so utterly—
“I had not suffered thus, hadst thou been here!”
But ah, in calmer after-thought, I see
By reason's light, dispassionate and clear,
That all thy love could not have kept from me
The penalties of this mortality,
O sheltering soul, even hadst thou been here!
By reason's light, dispassionate and clear,
That all thy love could not have kept from me
The penalties of this mortality,
O sheltering soul, even hadst thou been here!
103
For had thy shielding arm encircled me
Through all the years, and kept me close and near,
Still in my treasure moth and rust would be—
Still pain had rent and toil had wearied me,
And years had aged me, even hadst thou been here.
Through all the years, and kept me close and near,
Still in my treasure moth and rust would be—
Still pain had rent and toil had wearied me,
And years had aged me, even hadst thou been here.
And yet, let reason argue as it may,
Those words still hold for me a truth most dear—
For though thou couldst not keep all grief away,
Thy presence would have changed the night to day,
And all been well with me, hadst thou been here!
Those words still hold for me a truth most dear—
For though thou couldst not keep all grief away,
Thy presence would have changed the night to day,
And all been well with me, hadst thou been here!
| The silver bridge and other poems | |