Poems (Stoddard)/The Husband Speaks
THE HUSBAND SPEAKS.
DEAREST, though I have sung a many songs,Yet have I never sung one from my heart,Save to thee only—and such private songsAre as the silent, secret kiss of Love!My heart, I say, so sacred was, and is,I kept, I keep it, from all eyes but thine,Because it is no longer mine, but thine,Given thee forever, when I gave myselfThat winter morning—was it years ago?To me it seems the dream of yesterday!You have not lost the face I married then,Albeit a trifle paler—not to-night—Nor I the eyes that saw then, and see still, What every man should see in her he weds!I wander . . . wisely, let me, since my wordsConceal what none but you and I should know,—The love I bear you, who have been, and areStrong in the strength and weakness of your sex—Queen of my household, mistress of my heart,My children's mother, and my always friend;In one word, Sweet, sweetest of all words—Wife!