Pebbles and Shells (Hawkes collection)/I Loved Thee So
I LOVED THEE SO
My life was like a barren, wind-swept plain, Surmounted by a brazen, cloudless sky, Without an oasis to cheer the eye,Or e'en a shrub to tell of cooling rain;Then to my heart all feverish with pain, Came love with dewy wings, and told of thy Sweet face, thy blush, thy melancholy sigh,And of thy soul so pure and free from stain. Then straightway all the barren waste of years Was flooded by a shower of happy tearsAnd in that hour my soul forgot its woe; New pleasures filled with joy the glad old earth, New hopes and longing taught my soul the worthOf life, and all because I loved thee so.