Poems (Linn)/Wife of Husband

by Edith Willis Linn

WIFE OF HUSBAND.

I THOUGHT to hide my past away
Beneath the joy that filled my heart
When we were one, no more to part,
Till death should name the parting day.

But still between our clasping lips,
Clung lips whose kisses used to thrill;
Cold kisses of a love long still,
The touch of vanished finger tips.

A something stood between our love
And whispered, "Speak, and set me free!"
I spoke and told the "used to be,"
Each word that once had power to move.

Then, only then, could I attain
The inner temple of his life;
Then, only then, was I the wife,
Whose soul stood clear, without a stain.