Poems (Linn)/Life's Gold
LIFE'S GOLD.
WITHIN her chamber in the solemn night,My soul, a miser, counted out her gold.Her hoard of rich experience, wealth untoldBy all save her;—memories dark and brightFrom the dead past, whose ghosts rose still and whiteAsking their own. Ghosts that I once made boldTo name my sorrows, but long since enrolledAmong the blest, wreathing their names in light.Then through the darkness came a step, O Love!All-conquering power! so he found me thereAmid my treasures; all the wealth that yearsHad given my soul; and as he bent aboveWith countenance all radiantly fair,I knew for this were coined life's smiles and tears.