Poems (Hooper)/To. R. M. H.
TO R. M. H.
I enter sadly in That best-lov'd spotWhere thou wert wont to be, Where thou art not.Thy step upon the floor Has scarcely died;The echo of thy voice Has just replied.Yet all around looks sad, Deserted, drear,And plainer says than words, Thou art not here!
From yonder wall looks down Thy pictured face,With something of thy smile And of thy grace.Yet though there shine thine eyes, There bends thy brow,I cannot cheat my heart; It is not thou! For when have eyes of thine Their calm watch kept,Nor ever lost their smile The while I wept?
Come back, O love of mine! Come back again!Chase from my heart this wild And yearning pain.Bring back Love's golden light To Life's drear skies;Banish the bitter tears From these sad eyes.Here in one prayer I pour— Alas, in vain!—My heart's wild thirst for thee; Come back again!*****O think of me, darling, As I think of you,All the long day, love, And all the night through.I slumber to dream of thee; Wake but to weep.I never forget thee, Not even in sleep. God keep thee, my darling! God guard thee, mine own!As now thou dost wander Afar and alone.If loving could shield thee, Or prayers could avail,No grief should come near thee, No peril assail.
'Tis a week since the moment That saw thee depart;A week by my counting, A year by my heart.That heart holds one sorrow; With one hope doth burn:That grief is thine absence; That hope—thy return.