* A O H O"^ (V S • • O „ ' O.V ^^-i s • • Sonnets to a Wife By Ernest McGaffey Saint Louis ^tVilliam Marion Reedy 1905 LIBRARY of G0N6R£SS Two Copies Received NOV 17 1905 -, Copyright Entry . CLASS. CL XXc. No. COPY B. n 14-64 jf^e r Binding by Becktold &? Company Saint Louis CopyrigKtecl 1905 By ERNEST McGAFFEY For Cecile Foreword ^ I 'RUE poetry needs not to be explained. It goes *^ direct from poet's to reader's Leart. TLe seventy- sonnets in tkis li^le book Lave tliis quality oi clearness and directness. They are easily understanded or tne people and yet tLey kave a cliann as well even for tne literary gourmet. Tkey are always simple. They are always s^veet, and yet we cannot say that tney are too much sugar d. Our poet surely does not "tear a passion to tatters m his song, and wnile we may acknowledge that tne sonnet form is one that forbids aoandonment to nne frenzies, being m its nature repressive of exuoerances, it must DC clear to any reader of this sequence tnat its underlying note is tkat of a passion of exalted reserve. Tke love kere expressed is of tkat reticently strong sort wkick ckaracteri2es tke Anglo-Saxon. Tke passion is strong and ^ee^: it is never spectacular: it is not fantas- tic, w^kimsical. Tkis poet aims not to make an effect soely, to turn tke raptures and sorrows, tke kopes and fears, tke wistfulness of kis spirit into startling FOREWORD copy. He writes as one fulfilled of reverence before tte great toon and mystery of a woman s love. The impression lie gives us is of tne sanctity of a relationship in which, nevertheless, there is full recognition of the element other than spiritual which must go to the mak- ing of a perfect marriage. Here are hlenaea the charm of Phyllis, Phryne anci Penelope, the grosser passion, of which so much modern writing is ohsessed, heing, ho^v- ever, left in the ohscurity to which modern reserve has relegated it as something taken for granted, heautiful m its essence, hut soiled and spoiled hy hemg made famil- iar to the many. Mr. McGaffey makes his sonnets a continuous hymn of the heautiful in Nature, and or that heauty, with its suhtle, pervading sense of pathetic impermanence, as in- terpreting and interpreted hy the sane and sacred love het'ween a man and a 'woman. The clean atmosphere of the open world is m every sonnet. All the airs of heaven hlo'w pureness ahout these lovers. AiVe have no trace of contemporary materialistic vie^ws of love, no insistence upon the fascination of a rampant, savage, physically clamorous muliehrity. The spiritual signifi- FOREWORD cance of tke great Nature, of wkich nusband ana wife and tkeir love for one anotlier are a part, is always strongly suggested and tnis witnout cant either of orthodoxy or of tlie dolorous minor poet always la- menting tlie inevitable, immitigaWe loss of himself to the world. Tkere is no negation kere. Every line repu- diates "tke spirit wkicli denies." ike joy of living, tke pleasure of remembrance, tke kope tkat faces tke fu- ture, tke conndence — not too confident, kowevei — tkat """tkere is a kuddmg morro"w m midnigkt — all tkese tkings are proclaimed witk an exultancy tkat is unfail- ingly serene. Emotion and intellect are finely karmon- ized. Tkere are m tkese sonnets no signs of mere play- ing witk tke former or undue pride m tke exkikition of tke lafter as mere cleverness. Tke poet is sincere witk kimself , and yet tke strain of kappmess is so frankly in- sistent tkat ke cannot truly ke called, in tke ordinary sense of tke term, serious. He is deliciously un- didactic. A ckaracteristic of tkis trikute to woman, under tke form of a glorification of tke one woman, wkick will not ke lost to tke fine senses of tkose wko, wkile appre- FOREWORD ciatmg tke tanality anJ atsurdity of recent superlative manifestations or feminism, nevertheless realize tne enormity of tlie crime wnicn civilization has committed against "tlie sex" m regarding it as ■wholly secondary to tke masculine element, is tne fact that, throughout this work, tke wife is al>;vays treated as tne companion of tke kuskanJ. Ratker let us say, m tke good, warm sense, tkis poet s wife is kis "ckum." Ske is a -woman wko sees and kears and feels tke gladness of eartk and air and sky. Ske is a woman of tke open air. Ske knows tke trees, tke kirds, tke signs of tke ckangmg seasons. No Eigkteentk Century skepkerdess ske, kut a modern American woman, enjoying suck freedom as only tke American ^voman knows. Ske is tke central figure m an eminently kealtkful picture of life, and it is tkis fullness of kealtk wkick keeps tke sonnets clear of all morkidness. True, we kave kmts, no-w and again, of tke immanence of deatk — tkat skadow upon all tke joy of tke world wkick, somekow, seems nevertkeless to give to joy its uttermost poignancy — kut tke fact is accepted. Tke poet nor -wkimpers nor wkines. He faces kis fate. He kas kis love, and all tkis world FOREWORD 'wkich that love glorines, and love is^ in its higkest form, botk nope and raitn. As to the technique or these sonnets, it were iJle to maintain tliat it is faultless. Mr. McGaffey almost prides himself upon nis assertion of a large ignorance of grammar and rnetoric. It is, tnerefore, well to say tkat, considering suck self-confessed limitation, and considering also, tnat tne sonnet is ^"'a dimcult and cloy- ing form of verse,^ and that the form is necessarily a rigid restriction upon tnougnt and reeling, tnis perform- ance is almost miraculously artistic. There are few literary allusions, because the substance or the work comes straignt from tne heart and from Nature, and not from books. It is felt, not echoed from other poets. Defective sonnets there are m tnis sequence, but tke very defects, generally speaking, give the work a warmth, a color, a spontaneity which might have been ufterly lost through too much concern with the abstrusi- ties of syntax and prosody. It is easier to criticise these sonnets than to write sonnets that will compare with them. The poet is greater than the form to which he submits himself. His lyricism asserts itself FOREWORD triumpliantly always, and orten in so doing it bursts tke tonds of tlie Torm tkat is too compressed lor it. Here, tken, are these "Sonnets to a Wiie. 1 key are sweet and clean and strong. 1 hey arc the glorm- cation or Avomanlmess as, taken all m all, tne nnest tiling m tkis, the only world we kno"w. 1 ney honor goodness. Tney breatne tenderness and courage and a pantkeistic piety, Tney are tne nappy mean between the ascetic and tne sensual apprenension of lire. They are the ufterance or a sane passion ror a good woman by a poet 'wno is also a good man. Tney may not ap- peal to tne taste that invariably prefers "Madam Bovary" to "Tne v icar of >Vakeiield," but they will toucn tenderly, and not tne less surely, tne nearts of all tnose who feel and knoAv tnat true love is something more than a blind, bodily instinct or desire that we nave m common with the beasts that perish. vC^if/f'am f^arion Reedy. Sonnets to a VC^ife SONNETS TO A WIFE Life at its Best Lire at its oest is but a troublecl sea; Tke snip IS launcneJ with sno^v3r-spreacllng sail To race tLe reers, the tillo-ws and tte gale, A.na meet the perils that are yet to be. Tke skore ske left raJes dimly in tke lee And on tke keack tke forms and faces fail; Come ^vkat come may, or ram or sun or kail Tke skip glides on, tke manner is free. But Ak! wkat joy wken kackward o'er tke foam From stress of storms and far, unfriendly lands, rxeld m tke kollow of tke sky s vast dome To mark at last tke "well-rememkered sands; To know once more tke karkor of a kome And welcome of a woman's outstretcked kands. SONNETS TO A WIFE The vvooing Not witk tke tkougkts or others Jo I seek To wake your interest and kola it fast; Not witk a fancy from tke kuried past Some koneyed fragment of tke ancient Greek, Have I essayed m kaltmg form to speak. But I kave all suck cunning out\vara cast And trusted to tke Saxon -words at last To ligkt your eyes — put color in your ckeek. Tke simplest speeck is truest; wken I say "I love you! m tkose tkree words I kave said All tkat I know, or compass, or can feel. Let tkose wko will, adopt tke tortuous way Tke -wkile tkeir tkougkt m speeck oDscure is led R.ound, round and round, a wkeel -witkm a ^vkeel. SONNETS TO A WIFE In the Fields A^nen on the hills the golden sunlight lies. And apple-trees are neavy witn tne snow Or drirtea bloom that snades tne grass below, Wkile far above are realms or cloudless skies ; MVnen overheaa the wandering swallow flies Ana bu^iernies in loops or color go ; Xhen, as "we wait togetner, do I know Some touch, some nint, some gleam or Paradise. ihe sweet song-sparrow from the poplar sings 1 ne swaying leaves put rortn their emerald shields. Each trembling blossom where tne barred bee clings Its store or sweets through drowsy nours yields ; What sense or lire, what joy tnat almost stings, ^A' ith you and I tliere loitering m the nelds. SONNETS TO A WIFE Jealousy If to be jealous is to tope to gain Your every longing — make all other men As misty to your memory as wnen Tke sllaclo^vs slip across a window-pane ; If to te jealous is to wisn to reign Your one true lover, cnide me once again ; Call me as jealous as Otnello tnen A-nJ all your chiding will be given m vam. For I am one wko cannot hide my tkougnt And curb my tongue and make my cheek a liar ; Tke tissues ox my nature was not ■wrougkt Or lifeless clay, devoid or Pagan nre. And long m storm and anguisk kave I sougkt And now kave round, at last, my Heart's Desire. SONNETS TO A WIFE Books Tomes from cliill mincls I oftentimes nave read And disquisitions of tke great and wise. And sougkt to learn tlie secrets of tke skies On wintry nigkts witk starry scripture spread; Tkrougk lakyrintkian passage kave I sped Of romance and of deeds of kigk emprise. But notking found compared to your dear eyes Nor poems like to wkat your lips kave said. To read a woman in tke kigker sense Is quite keyond tke power of men's w^it ; AVko says ke does is made of vain pretense. And never can ky wisdom kenent. Her look is more tkan spoken eloquence — Her voice tke sweetest lyric ever w^rit. SONNETS TO A WIFE Love v^fthout jPassion Love witnout passion is a flower without sun, Rert or tne w^na s toucn, banisnecl from the ram Wrought against nature — tnererore wrought in vain However fine its tissue may te spun; Its petals raae and wi^ther one by one And in the dust ana under dust are lain; Love without passion is tke dying strain From shattered lutes tkat all to minors run. True love is as tke rose; tke roses glow Witk lire and color m tke summer air. ike winds or Autumn tkrougk tke garden klow, Tke leaves are scaftered and tke vines are kare, Tke snow^s depart, tke grass springs up, and lo! Again tke ruddy rose is klooming tkere. SONNETS TO A WIFE On the Hills When in tne valley -v^^nere tne nver ran And sunlight ripplea on its current fair, AA' hile shaao"wea vistas or Autumnal air Re-ecnoed -witn the dying notes of Pan: vvhen twilight s herald came m night s dusk van, \Vhile sank the sun in "western splendor there, >^nat joy for you and me all this to share Mid wooded glades and chords ^olian. And in the hush that followed as we saw The arter-glo"w dye deep the ^valting slopes, >Aniile hrooding silence hushed the somhre rills. Then fell upon our hearts a happy awe And light and shade of mingled fears and hopes, Star'Signalled on the ramparts or the hills. SONNETS TO A WIFE Gods, idols, xeticnes or wood and stone Or carven ivory and or beaten orass, Tney rise and rail, tney nourish and they pass. Or stand disngured in some desert lone; Creeds come and go and on tne sands are stro'wn And wither like tne -wmter-sliaken grass. And all sucn things are skadows on a glass To this one love wnicn I for you Lave known. For in my pagan Leart I kold you dear More tnan a miser might nis store or gold. Or snip-"wrecked tar tne rescuing sail unfurled. In my religion you are worskip kere Beyond all gods or temples manifold, Xke sole and only woman in tke world. SONNETS TO A WIFE Recollections Xo conjure up old memories; to say, "Do you remember that m such a June, A.n orchard oriole sang us a tune Melodiously from out a trancning spray Or leary aenseness; or on suck a day ^^e saw tne silver spectre or tke moon Long after da^wn, and nearing unto noon, A merest "wraitn or sickle gaunt and grey?" Xnese are love s echoes, faintly heard and fine But ever-present, never dim nor mute. That you and I in comradeship do snare; S^veet symphonies tnat breatne a sense divme Like misty cnords tkat linger ty a lute. Though all tne silver strings are sha^ered there. 10 SONNETS TO A WIFE W, omen Of suck a woman it may "well be said Slie nas a graceful carriage; or is fair; And of anotker ske kas golaen kair AnJ praise tke poise ana keauty of ker kead; Some women may ke ^vlfty and ^vell read Ana some may ckarm ky tkroats and kosoms kare. AU are Eve's daugkters, all ker power skare To conquer man and lead kim ky a tkread. But more tkan seeming grace or outward sign Of loveliness tkat like a flower is seen. Is -wkat ske keeps skrined sacred and apart; Some glo'w of soul like sparkle in tke -wine Some skado'wy look, like Autumn pool serene, Tke reflex of tke pureness of ker keart. SONNETSTOAWIFE 11 Ideals Not rnapsoaies for what we cannot reach Nor longing for wnat lies beyona our power. But fust to make life lovely as a flower By gift of tenderness in thought ana speecn; Thus ram ana dew tneir loving lessons teacn In lace-Kke gleam or sudden-Jropping snower A.na so snail we, througn every passing hour, riola fast to higner visions., each for eacn. Fidelity and courtesy; and touck Of hopefulness to meet the coming years. And strength to view tne days tnat tack-ward roll,- Xnese will I give you, and m pledging such Cast off the skado-ws of all crowding fears. And act a man's part truly, heart and soul. 12 SONNETS TO A WIFE' In Idle Hours In idle Lours to backwara look and see Tke tracery or wind across tLe grass. To mark the clouds tkat float m snowy mass Witk myriad mmy pennants flowing free; To kear a robin m tke maple tree, A.nd see tke pool s reflection like a glass Wkere ligkt and skade alternate come and pass, Witk muffled mellow murmurings oi tke kee: Tkis IS to drink or nature^s krimming cup In woodland nooks or slumkerous solitude, Wkere summer kolds a golden keaker up And all tke eartk ky keauty's self is wooed; Do you rememker wkere tke dead leaf fell, Tke violet s klue, tke empty acorn skell? SONNETS TO A WIFE 13 A?, one Tne num of many voices rises near And from tke road comes Jin of carriage-wLeels; Beyond are sails tLat draw tke outbound keels Wnicn northward from the sLimmering Larbor steer; And tkere are myriads of strange faces kere Smootn brows tkat kappy ckildkood's kour reveals. And wrinkled ckeeks wkere care kas stamped kis seals And wandering crowds ky sea-wall and ky pier. And we keneatk tke cloudless summer sky See all tkis gatkering pass us m a stream. Nor note tke ligkts tkat on tke w^ater gleam Nor wkite-wmged gulls tkat seaward dip and fly; ^^e are alone — tke rest is kut a dream In skadow-land we linger, you and I. 14 SONNETSTOAWIFE M^ US1C A TvinJ-song in tlie ruslics, or a sigh From Autumn's chorus in the naked trees, Tke white-stolea chanting or the stately seas Against a line of cliffs tnat tower nigh — A plover's rippling whistle in tne sky Or wailing oi tne flutes m minor keys: I m my time have narkecl to all or these And reeciy plasn or waters lisping ty. But Ok! kow karsn suck ckords must ever seem Since in my keart I kear an ecko come More sweet ana low tkan plaint or mourning-dove; ike reflex or tke note tkat is my dream, Xkat music wkick makes otker music dumk 1 ke voice or tke one woman wkom I love. SONNETSTOAWIFE 15 A VIZomans VIZorJd The man sne loves; ana all ne means to ner Is "wnat a woman s world is; m ner way Or living ana or loving Jay by day Sometimes ner dreaming eyes 'will ml and olur And memories or him will come to stir Her heart-strings; as a blossom s self might s^way A^nen througn the scented, xlo"wery paths or May Drift Jown tke eclioes or the winds that were. Tke liAle tkmgs are what she treasures most; Sweet, suLtle courtesies or nandand speech. For tLese tke lover's a^itude still teack Be^er tkan costly girt or idle koast; As one -wko reckons, not witkout kis kost, HolJing ker near and dear, yet out or reack. 16 SONNETSTOAWIFE By S^oonliglit In skaJow-nauntea nusn or lonely place Witk ripples lapping ty tke reeJy snores. And glint or stars along tlie watery floors I see again tne profile ox your face; Tke moonligkt trailed across your wrist like lace iken disappeared kekma its cloudy doors, >iVkile we sat loly, 'witk tke lale oars 1 wixt eartk and sky, as kalancmg m space. How strange ana keautirul to us it seemed. Held in tke koUow oi tke nigkt to float, NVitk mumea liquid wkisperings round tke koat Wkile overkead tke constellations dreamed; Dome xamt-keard rustle from tke distant sands And silence kroodmg o^er our closc'locked kands. SONNETSTOAWIFE 17 Comjffanionsm^ Tne sense or comraaesnip ■wnicn now -we reel Grew slowly as an oak does, ana as strong. For no^w to one another -we belong In all that makes a man ana woman leal; Our lives are Imkea as nrm as welded steel A.nd m our thoughts sweet harmonies do throng. Like hall-remembered ecLoes or a song As days and nights aLove our patLway wkeel. So do the perfume and tke joy or days Live "witn us and tne season s s"way dispute. Spring, Summer, Autumn, tliey may go tkcir ways And bring nor 1>ud nor Llossom an it suit; Yet Avnat reck -we, beside the "wmtry nre Sluing alone, I and my rieart^s Desire? 18 SONNETSTOAWIFE A:part 31eaK, tifter Lours, "wnen separate we kne-w Days wJien the sun sank glo^ving in the west, A.nd quietly tne shadows onward pressed Until tke twiligkt Llo^ed out tlie blue. Tke first laint stars came slowly to tlie view A.nd nome-'Dound birds new silent to tneir nest, ^iVnile swiit as ligkt our tkougLts in eager quest Pierced outward, yours to me and mine to you. Now in the years when we togetner dream 1 hose days apart nave lost tneir somore look; Mere dog-eared pages or Time s well-tkumted book And not to us belonging do they seem. Tkus fate at last katk offered full amends And made those lovers who were once tut friends. SONNETSTOAWIFE 19 A^^le Trees First to our signt tneir brancnes brown ana bare Stood nakea m the days or early spring, VVnere naply shoAvea tne Drilliant azure wing Or some conceited jay-bird roaming there; A.na tnen came May, and all tne waiting air \Vas white -with aamty olossoms quivering >^ith korJes or tees tLat gatkereci tliere to cling, A.na all those noneyea sweets to claim ana share. But test or all was m tke Jays or June, ^^V^nen thick and full tke canopy or leaves Put back the sun witn sneltering emerald eaves. And noused us rrom the fervent lignt of noon; How happily we told there m tke shade Of dreams of one another, unafraid. 20 SONNETS TO A WIFE R eserve Some men proclaim tteir love and let it go In pitiful wild words tnat all may see. How tLey kave signed, or Lended low tne knee. God s ^vill be done; I "was not rasnioned so; I know wLiat utter love, is and I know WLat tkis our lire togetker kolds for me, Gut keep it sacred, as not meant to oe Flung gossip-ward, to tne four winds tnat blow. I marvel at tnose singers wno aspire To lay tneir souls bare to the rabble tnrong; For you my lips nave trembled into song And you sball judge if I lack augnt of fire. If that my heart-beats bave not rung like cbimes Witbin tbe ecboing transept of tbese rbymes. SONNETS TO A WIFE 21 Vaniti/ To DC as cnarmmg in your liusl>aniVitli chattering note, rar-piercmg clear and bold, A.nd mark noAv dimly m the forest old The lignts and snado^vs softly palpitate; And tLere, skut closely from tLe outer world To lie on some green slope and idly dream. Touch hands, and smile, wbile over us unfurled Tne leafy banners of tLe noontide gleam — That was to find tke Ponce de Leon spring Of youtn, and Lope, and blossoms burgeoning. SONNETSTOAWIFE 23 9oU TLcre is a gold unlockeJ by miser s key And gold is found in lees or sparlding wine. And tliere is gold along tke swaying vine ^iVTiere yellow talf-Llown roses drooping oe; Gold and to spare among the sands at sea And palest gold in saffron stars tLat skme; And gold deep'digged from many a hidden mine And golden leaves upon tke willow tree. But all tkis aureate glitter is for naugLt Wken I in dreamful mood my love kekold. Crowned witk ker tangled locks of tawny gold Like corn-silk in tke kreeze^s meskes caugkt. Wone otker gold may matck it^ none so fair As tkat wkick gatkers in a w^oman s kair. 24 SONNETSTOAWIFE To My Wife I as an actor. Lave played well my part. Not skowing Low tke sons or men I scorn; TLose sLriveleJ, greeJy souls wLo crave tLe corn TLe oil and wine, tLe treasures or tLe mart; Deep in my soul I Lum tLe name for Art As one wLo was a lyric poet Lorn, As one wLo leads a singer^s Lope forlorn Yet witL unsLrinking and unconquered Leart. I can exist on wLat a Spartan can; Endure as granite; smile -wLen friends ao fail; Face Poverty, and see tLe years grow stale Or Lide my time witL any sort of man. Full in tLe teetL of Fate I fling tLe glove — Come age, come deatL, wLile I Lave you my love! SONNETS TO A WIFE 25 5f vi^otnan s Love Ir I nave fought my baser sell and raised My tnougnts to nigli ideals, it is due To ttis tke love tkat I kave round in you As I m your dear eyes Lave longing gazed. ^^nen I look back I nnd myselr amazed At wkat I "was; wkat mire I floundered tlirougk. So far I -wandered from the pure and true A^liile all my good intentions fitful blazed. A man is naif a savage, and lie needs Ine -woman s presence to arouse his soul. Her love has given tLe -world Lis noblest deeds, Sne IS tne liglit tnat -warns him from tlie skoal — The reefs — the rocks — -wnere fell destruction leads And dark engumng -waters silent roll. 26 SONNETSTOAWIFE Mid. summer Tke reJ-winged Wack-tir J wkistlecl from tlie reeds TLe cat'tail stalks rose thickly straigLt ana tall. By meaaow-slopes ran^ sweet a carnival Or l)ol>olinks down-fluttering on the meads; From ritton-grass and downy road-side -weeds Fine powdered particles or dust "would rail. And wnere tne sun snone, through an old stone wall Danced in its lignt a mynad ox seeds. Xnen came a husn m Nature — one tnat fell Like shadows on tne leaves, so sort it seemed. Or like that pause -which follows wLen a tell Peals, and is silent; and we sat and dreamed, NVnile all around tne -waters -wove tLeir spell And far aLove tke cloudless azure gleamed. SONNETSTOAWIFE 27 Sisterhood All women born are sisters; lew or nign. Good, tad, indifferent or Low you name Your silk-beruffled and most Laugkty dame "WTiose gilded carriage rumtles slowly ty. Your drunken courtesan witk Lair awry. Barred, marred and scarred Ly Lranding irons or sLame. Lo! in tLeir cLildLood tLey were all tLe same. And Lave no false distinctions w^Len tLey die. OL! sisters, to your owti sex most unkind. How will it fare you wLen you waste your LreatL And sink like LuLLles in tLe sea of DeatL, If to your sisters you were deaf and blind? R.ememLer His forgiveness, wLicL sumced For Magdalen, wLo wasLed tLe feet of CLrist! 28 SONNETSTOAWIFE ^Crater-Lilies 'We rowed tlie toat among tkem as ttey lay Pale lilies, snowy and witk kearts of gold, Tkat sprang from under deptks oi oozy mould And starred tke waters of a Summer day; And I rememker after, tkat in play You wound tkem round your f orekead fold on fold. And feigned you were a Naiad, sky and cold Or water-sprite, or mocking w^oodland fay. Yet an you were a Naiad, tkis I know Tkat you were courted ky tke amorous sun, Wko kissed your creamy lilies one ky one Till tkey kad drooped keneatk kis fervent glow; But ere tkey -witkered in tke twiligkt tkere Tkey left tkeir gold kearts tangled in your kair. SONNETS TO A WIFE 29 Love s Philosophy ri. rock stands harmless from a lime rain But many storms ■will wear its strengtk away; An J tnus in lire wnen men and women say Tnose biiier woras wnicn hasten strife and pain. And still repeat tul nope of peace is vain; Lo! as the nour-glass sands divide tke day So tnese small things have parted tliem for aye. And Love tnrough sucn harsk means itself katL slain. A venomed adder is the numan tongue 'WTien tipped witLi anger, be it eitLer sex; And -who when stirred witk controversy, recks How deep or keen tne cruel words Lave stung? Curb tnen the lips and emulate tke dove. Lest "wounding one whose life is m your love. 30 SONNETS TO A WIFE JLO the VC^oman Xo lead, not drive nim, is tne wiser plan For tactrulness will tame him all tke years, A.nd tenderness, not tyranny lie fears. For men were ever tut a stuttom clan; And long ago since first tke world Legan And stars rose dimly in tke primal spkeres, A little wit, diplomacy, and tears. — >Vliat havoc Lave tLey wrougLt witk every man! So shall you conquer, as tne gentle rain, Sootking his vanity to gain your ends. Moulding his wiskes till tkey meet your own; 1 kus as a ckild kis confidence you gain For still to flaftery kis keart unkends, — Only a ckild, a li^le larger grown. SONNETSTOAWIFE 31 To tJie J^an \{ you a -woman would desire to nola Faittful and true, and guided by your will. Be sure no art, nor flafterys fine skill SKall e er deceive Ler, nor w^ill gilts or gold; By love alone Ler spirit is controlled, Tkis is lier law, Ler Deity, until Tte liglit falls pale upon ker f oreLead still TLe red lips asLen, and tke keart grown cold. So skall you woo lier if you -wish to win Her teart and soul, to wear Ler like a flower To drain ker kisses, and keep kack ker tears; Filling witk love tke space ske lingers in; Making ker dream of you eack passing kour 'Witk u^er longing tkrougk tke iron years. 32 SONNETSTOAWIFE M oming Tke kilJee's cry along the sandy shore Tke pme-tops m the distance, and a still Far sense of Lroodmg on eacli wooded hill; Tke fallen trunk or a huge sycamore Around wLose roots tlie river s waters pour. And everywhere a subtle da-wning tnrill That grows, and spreads, and palpitates until TLe red sun peeps above tke eastern door. MVkat joy to stand above our vantage ground Geneatk tke skade ox overkanging beeck; To drink in every ckord oi sylvan sound Learning tke lessons tkat tke woods can teack; Our kearts and souls by syinpatky tkus bound And kappy more in tkougkt and less in speeck! SONNETSTOAWIFE 33 ^wo Loves It, loving you, I sometimes seem as sad Or dull, or tinged witk Lint of soter mood. It IS because I leel my lire rene^wed Having your love; and still my treasures add A.S misers do; and what ox woe Fve nad No more witL its gaunt sKadows may intrude; Tkus silence nils the nappy interlude Wkile I sit wordless, worshiping, and glad. A toy's love and a man's love intertwined I give to you to govern all tKe time, ^A/^ketlier it run to reason or to rhyme. Tlie passion and the purity combined; TLe man s love, strong to £glit and work and plan, Tke koy's, to wake tke lover in tke man. 34 SONNETSTOAWIFE On a Country Road A Tvliitened lengtli oi grayisb Just tliat leaJs Past a rougk briclge wnere grape-vines icUy trail; From clistant woods tne -wnistle of a quail Anci bufterflies tLat flit above tne weeds. Horizonward a Uuisn naze recedes And flaunts a sno^ivy cloud'sLape like a sail; Xke scent ox stra^vDerrles along a swale Gomes pungently to anyone wno needs. Ho"w slo"wly and now joyous passed tnat day, Tke wayside roses clunbing m a throng ; Tke rar-brougnt odor or tne new-mown nay Xke ckemes dangling as we rode along; And ckeering us along the nomeward way TLe sweet-wrought flutings or the room's song! SONNETS TO A WIFE 35 Re-incamatron Tke flower you gatliered^ UossomeJ long ago ^iVarmecl ty past sunskine, jeweled with the rain Of tygone years; tke river s liquid strain ^^kick now you kear, w^as once tke purling flow Of a lost stream; tke very winds tkat klow Have come anci gone, will come and ^o again; And wkere tke primal grass kas decked tke plain Year after year tke later grasses grow. And tkus witk every line tkat lovers trace; However dear, or passionate tke word, Tke self-same tkougkt, in a dead kosom stirred Has krougkt tke roses to some woman's face; And all tke worskip tkat my rkyming krings Is kut an ecko of forgo^en tkings. 36 SONNETSTOAWIFE Analysis To \veigli as in a nnely balancea scale Eacli tLouglit and action tkat tke season brings. Is tut to fret tke spirit "witn tkose tkings WLick after all are of tke least avail. It is cnougk to kno^v we skall not fail In all tke s\veet and kigk imaginings, Tke nokler tkougkts "wkick lend to Love kis "wings Tkougk Time and Fate and even Deatk assail. Analysis is common, and may seem Tkrougk instances, conclusive as tke leaf Borne to tke Ark ky tke returning dove; But oftentimes may prove to ke a tkeme "W^kick sends tke worm of jealousy and grief To kligkt tke klossom of a perfect love. SONNETS TO A WIFE 37 Tact A woman^s crowning glory is Ler tact. The art or knowing wnen and "wnat to say; ^AHien to be grave, inJifferent, or gay. And seem so cnarming m her every act That, as a magnet, she 'will men a^ract And easily compel tkem to ker sway. So shall she rule, or golden nair or gray. The suDtlest type ox womanhood m fact. For tact IS more than teauty, more tkan -wit^ Akin to genius, and tne sum or all Which makes the -woman wko is Llessed witL it A Queen by ngnt, m novel or m Lall; Sweet as the honeyed lines ty poet w^rit ? And true as rings tke wild-tird s madrigal. 38 SONNETSTOAWIFE In Idleness To lie upon tne ^rass and watcn tne neras Oeep standing in tne river i, and to see Tke barred golcl glisten on tne bumble-Dee And note tbe noisy gossip or the birds; To mark tbe blue borizon-rim tbat girds Tbat purple world beyond. Infinity — Under tbe sbade or a wild-cberry tree To "wait and listenv bampered not by words. Tbis was our gladness on a long June day Companioned by tbe lazy lapse or bours, A^bile ebbed tbe slow, encbanted time away Wbere bird-songs came, uke intermi^ient sbowers. And drowsy sweet upon us wbere we lay, Tbe perfume of tbe elderberry flowers. SONNETSTOAWIFE 39 A Burden of Vain VC^isJies A Lurden or vain "wishes: topes tnat diiecl V ague dreams or fame and "wraitns or orave renown Pass m the sunlight, motes that vanisn aown Beyond me, standing on this old nill-side. And disappear in circling vistas wide Like Autumn leaves tnat scaler, "worn and trown AkVnen Summer lays aside her tapered cro"wn. And sombre winds and rusted fields aLide. A turden of vain wiskes! Nay, not so! Your nand-clasp is my naven and my kope. Your love and f aitn the utmost gross and scope Of dreams and fact — tnis at tne last I kno^w. Here, waiting wliile tke sunset's after-glow Burns like a torcL in valley and on slope. 40 SONNETSTOAWIFE yvisdi om There is a culture deeper far than books And intellect teyond tke ken of sckools; >iVise sayings sometimes on tke lips of fools And knowledge stored m many quiet nooks. A woman is as cultured as ske looks, (Speaks, acts, and smiles, and merely kookisk rules Ske well may scorn as being clumsy tools W^itk w^kick dull fiskers file tkeir rusty kooks. Tkis intellect tkat sckolars prattle of \Vky, wkat does it accomplisk? Every age Has witnessed tkrougk tke perfidy of Love How woman skows tke folly of tke sage. Nay! tken. Sir Oracle, reserve tky wit Some woman's eyes skall give tkee need of it. SONNETSTOAWIFE 41 Lost Days Tne tapestry or skadows — gliosts of Jreams Tnat uickerea tnrougn tke silence and were ^one. Lost days that "we to^etner leaned upon Have faded, and tke recollection seems As dim as sunken starligkt m tke streams, Wken on a Summer nigkt reflections wan From cloudy keigkts to watery deptks are drawn, LO glimmer m tke current^s under-gleams. Lost days, kut ckerisked; mirrored in a kaze Ox tkreadkare seasons, ^^mter. Autumn, Spring, And Summer "witk ker moss-kegirdled 'ways And nask and nutter or a kird^s sort wing; But wko skall pierce tke lakyrintkian maze To tell us wkere tkeir skades are wandering? 42 SONNETSTOAWIFE E vening The tree-toad's call irom oranclies dead and green. And from the grass a cricket's rasping cry; An artei^lovir across tke Eastern sky R.ed as a far-flung fire-trand's ruddy skeen; The lapping of s"wirt ripples skot ketween Old logs tkat rigid m tke current lie, Tke skado'w or our koat tkat passes ky Akove kro\vn sands tkat dimly now are seen. Tkis was to float witk silence and tke nigkt vJave tkrougk tke mesk of twiligkt like a strand; To note tke twisting of tke kat's weird fligkt And glint of nre-flies on tke skelvmg sand. To ke removed from eartkly essence quite Two skadows drifting into skadow-land. SONNETSTOAWIFE 43 Youth A.ge is not always given -witli gray kair Nor youtk encompasseoi m tne re^west years; Since doubt and pain witL tneir attendant tears Are dauntless etcners or the lines or care; Youtk is most present in tke joys we skare As swift or slow tke season disappears, — Tke verve, tke gladness wkick puts ky all rears, Tke kopes we nourisk and tke smiles we wear. I tkink of you as alw^ays kemg young Untoucked ky Sorrow and un-worn ky Time, Springes klossoms opening in your tender smile; Like ker of wkom tke elder Bards kave sung, Ckanting ker praise in many a nokle rkyme — Like Cleopatra ky Egyptian Nile. 44 SONNETS TO A WIFE Tapestry In tlie deep twilignt -wnen my random tliouglit ^Ar eaves m the silence and surrounding shade Wets or odd lancies, glittering like brocade. Or somLre \voox of darker musings trougkt; Tken liave the hours "witn mystery still rrauglit Full on tne wall a motley texture laid, ^kVitkin tLe loom or darkness spun and made In divers Lues together firmly wrougnt. And all tke warp oi this "weird spinning seems Forever old and yet forever new; Witli rusted spots and sudden golden gleams A subtle Llending of the false and true; Tke dull threads nintmg of my wasted dreams The Bright ones telling of my love for you. SONNETSTOAWIFE 45 mmaci ^iVe climbed tne slops above tlie valley's edge; Benind, tne country road, a riDOon lay Or powdery dust down-winding dim and gray; A tird sang s^weetly from a tkomy Ledge And ripples circled m the nver sedge, ^A^Lile trown Octoter dozed tne nours away; And north-ward and beyond the mllside clay Tke clustering sumach £amed along a ledge. Tke lire or ruddy Autumn filled its veins Deep-glo-wTug masses glinting m the sun, R.edder than the -wild- strawberry, where it stains Tne woodland -ways mid ugnt and shado-w spun; A gorgeous dream, a color-draught divine. Spilled on tke golden afternoon like wine. 46 SONNETSTOAWIFE Love-Letters Let tne li^lit uame consume tnem and Le done >Vnile their cLarred fragments in tke emters lie, Tne old, sweet record or tne days gone ty. R.ead tnem and burn tnem, lingering, one by one; The swirt montns gatker and tke seasons run Witk none to tell us or tke wken or wky; Let tkem as askes vanisk in tke sky. Since tkis our courtskip kas kut just kegun. Befter to miss tkem wken we parted ke Tkan tkrougk some fault or lapsing of tke years. To kave tkem made a target for tke sneers Or jest, or scorn, of Curiosity; For tkere are tkose wko tear suck tkings apart To feast and mumkle on a kuman keart. SONNETSTOAWIFE 47 Spring Tne sleet drives snarply on tne winao^v-panes A.na naked trees uke scaflolds aarkly stand; Xne iron gfrasp or winter on tne land Locks nelds and streams in gli^enng icy cnams; Tne nortn-wmd -wails m keen Polaric strains Ajaa dead leaves dance a gnostly saraband. While cloud-fleets dim, ty snapes fantastic manned Sail -westward where tne sunset coldly -wanes. But ty tne blaze or our red-glowing grate We see beyond tke armored line ox eaves. And mark tlie flashing or a flicker's -wing; A.nd violets m the blue flames seem to wait. While shining througn a mist ox emerald leaves. Beckons and laughs the s-weet, rresk face of Spring. 48 SONNETSTOAWIFE The Fh'gJit of Time Tke fligkt OT Time will tnrougn tne cycles •wing Ancl one age rollow on anotner^s patn; Tke leaves of May w^ill feel November's wrath And January olossom into Spring; And side ky side we, onward ^wandering, Skall learn tke lesson tkat eack season katk, Tke kud and skard, tke glow and aitermatk Tke kopes tkat vanisk and tke dreams tkat cling. A day is like a swallow's skadow cast On sleeping waters; lor an instant tkere Etcked ky tke restless pinion m mid-air. Vague and elusive as tke neeting past; So let us cleave to gladness m our day Wkile Time, tkat miser, koards tke years away. SONNETS TO A WIFE 49 Late Violets Fast-niaden m Octooer's grassy s^vales Late violets lay; we round tkem, you ana I, >Ar nile gusty winas unbridled galloped oy Ajia smoky Inaian-sumnier mled the vales; A.na vtrhen the grass dividea m the gales Tkey glinted there like bits or Autumn sky, Xnen disappeared, as sylvan rairies shy Wnen clamor rude their close retreat assails. Late violets; blue as deep-sea aeptLs unstirred, TLey nestled there, and neard tke pulse or eartn Reverberate witbm its nollow girth Like to a giant ecbo, raint and blurred; And far beyond tke sweep of ^A^mter s wmg We saw tbeir paler sisters of tbe Spring. 50 SONNETSTOAWIFE Autumn Reveries Along the slopes tne laaing stubbles shoxv And m tne wooas a purple vapor swims, >Vnile niCKory-nuts from tke wmcl-sliaken limLs Drop aown ana nestle in the leaves below; The sumach burns with ever-deepening glow And snadows lurk about the shallow rims Or silent pools; while eastward slowly dims The penciled flight ox a departing crow. And you and I here on this russet hill Drink deep the heaker or Autumnal wine ITeld to our lips, and reel the nameless thrill That ehhs and flows in changing shade and skine; The hreeze is dead; the trees are rapt and stiU As pilgrims kneeling at a desert shrine. SONNETSTOAWIFE 51 Rosemary Rosemary for rememDrance — may tnis be A leaf wkere treasured happiness is sealea Unknown to otkers; wkick to us will yield (Our memory tke magic opening key) A fragrant scent of tke lost Jays set free A music to our listening ears revealed; As a rougk sLell, tkat sometimes koUs concealed Tke mystic murmurous secret of tke sea. For sometking to tke wri^en line belongs Beyond tke word tkat's u^ered; tkrougk tke pen Tkis verse, maykap, skall come to live again And take its place among remembered songs; Wken you and I, and all our love and trust Are blended into long-forgoften dust. 52 SONNETSTOAWIFE D awn TLe grey dawn floocled m tne lonely room Tkat mourned your aLsence; on tte western "wall TLe sallow sliafts or sunbeams struck., to fall As sadly as ttey would across a tomb; A skadow in tke corner was a plume Tkat nigkt liad dropped from oS ner saole pall; A tkomy rose stood leafless in the Kail, Your going tkus Lad rol)l>ed it of its tloom. Tke very pictures were aware of tnis As silver-stoled and silent slowly came Tke first reluctant messengers of Dawn; Of all you arc and all you are to miss Byron seemed speaking from kis oval frame. And Greek Aspasia "wkispered, ^*^ske is goneP SONNETSTOAWIFE 53 N, oon Tke took I liold witkin my idle clasp Is closed, and sealed, for augkt I care indeed; My mind Las now no leisure hour to read No tale of love, nor old romance to grasp; My ttouglits tang skattered, as a broken kasp And touck of kands not Fancy's touck I need; For since you left my keart kegins to kleed AiVkere Memory kas pierced it like an asp. To love you and to lose you for a day A loss irreparable to me it seems — Tke sting of Fate, tke worm tkat never dies. I cannot live to kave you long a\vay And see, alas! as only in my dreams, Tke ligkt of recognition in your eyes. 54 SONNETSTOAWIFE KLiglit AA^nat snaaows troop across tne xaaing floor ^A' nat nusn floats ever as the sliaao"ws turn! Like asnes brooding in a sullen urn Mocking the shacies or tliose who went oeiore. My tkoughts lie keavy, and I dream no more But ever for your aosent race I yearn; And grudgingly my somLre lesson learn Or waiting for your footstep at the door. Maynap my wisn is semsh; just to see Your nand m mine; to kno-w that you are here Close, with tne lyrics of your tears or smiles; I cannot say what this will mean to me Nor all the ways m which I hold you dear, Across this void of unrelenting miles. SONNETSTOAWIFE 55 Anniversary Tnis IS tnat day ot aays 'when, long ago. We stood together by an ancient man A.nd neard him drone about the Scriptural plan Whicn plignted men and women here belo^v; And westward burned the Autumn afterglow Vv nile scarlet vines across tne brancnes ran. And flying leaves, a russet caravan Fled down tne vales m rustling overflow. I scarcely recollect tLe spoken words. Nor care I for the ceremony vain Wbicbi said, forsooth, tbat God nad made us one. Since Love had mated us as mate tne birds — And on the "windows was the West s bright stain Tne parting benediction of tne sun. 56 SONNETSTOAWIFE Ha^^iness Not to te Lappy in our own conceit Of faitk, and trutL, and well-rememDered days In breezy woods and empty, pastoral ways, Wkere tlie trown "waves of leaves Autumnal beat; But more to wisb tbat otner souls may meet And find tbeir comrades m tnis eartbly maze; Tbat men and women, like to us, will gaze, Eacli in eacb otber's eyes and nnd lire s"weet. Wben you and I togetber silent -wait Not only do tbese tbougbts or Tbee and Me, ICnock at our bearts, as at an inner gate. But tbrougb tbe wonder and tbe mystery. Deep in our dreams we pray a kindly rate; For lovers past, and lovers yet to be. SONNETSTOAWIFE 57 In jDays to Come In days to come, when we are old and gray- Bent witn the years and disciplined Ly Time, Xremtung and reeLle we "will scan tkis rkyme ^iVhose light for us nas almost dimmed away, A.nd haply tnen remember, ii we may. Some sweet suggestion or our youtn sublime. Some keen reminder wLick like kruised tkyme Skall kring tke memory or our Summer day. Tkere is no life kut loving; naugkt kut Youtk Xo make love perfect; wken tke rose-leaves fall Tke perfume witkers, wkile tke kirds are dumk. And tkus indeed I could in very trutk Pray tkat we kotk migkt early yield tkis tkrall. And so lose Winter in tke days to come. 58 SONNETSTOAWIFE Hero- ^Worsni^ To every man some doting woman lends A kalo of encLantment; in Ler eyes He is most notle, loving, trave and wise; Tkis worskip like \o incense piire ascends And witk ker dreams in painted glamour klends Like rainkow melting in tke ^vestem skies; His ligktest word is sometking dear to prize His ckance caress for sorrow full amends. Ok, mystery! tkat woman cannot see Her o"wn superiority to man, Wkick soars on kigk like eagle's w^ing akove— Just as it was, kas keen, w^ill ever ke. Because ordained ky God's primeval plan. Her greater faitk, fidelity and love. SONNETSTOAWIFE 59 VC^aHing To picture you wlien tar apart from me, Xo guess hoMv you might occupy the day; V^etker tlie moments slowly glide away And if tke kours or swiit or tedious ke; And never from tkis patient vigil free. But like a statue in tke sculptor s clay Musing and krooding, or as Moslems pray, Stretcking my kands tkrougk silence out to tkee. Tkere is so liftle time. Love, after all. To walk togetker; suck a liftle wkile Before our lives will melt as in a kreatk; How soon, alas, tke leaves of April fall! How^ muck I miss tke joyance of your smile. And waiting seems tke kii^rness of deatk. 60 SONNETS TO A WIFE D reams Not always liave we prudent sowed tne seed Oi tkougkts prosaic, as to wisely reap, Tke less impassioned memories tnat keep Our lives more commonplace m word and deed; For Fancy sometimes Wows upon ner reed And Romance dimly rises, nalr-asleep, \Vnile over neart and oram and spirit S"weep Faint cnords, like "wings from mystic cages freed. Eitlier a song ox gladness or or tears In sunshine rippling or on sliadow cast, Tnus to our ears tnis mocking music seems; Something to listen tor tkrougk flying years Rapt eckoes or tke future or tke past, Tke respite and tke recompense of dreams. SONNETS TO A WIFE 61 Affinity The sparks fly always upward, and my soul Spreads wings to meet yours, as its one true mate, Wnetner the paths oe Llossom-crowned or strait WLetner m gladness or m Difter dole; No voice but yours can soothe me, or control. No words save yours my ways illuminate; I am content to lollow, lead or wait. My eyes flxed ever on the distant goal. Not oak and vine are we, but lovers twain ^^no race the world together side by side. And so sliall bide until our latest breatli; In storm or shine, m burning sun or rain Tkrougk lire's long ways in comradeship allied. Not to te parted Ly tne Lands or deatk. 62 SONNETSTOAWIFE Laughter The toucn of mirtn still cnerisn, as is oest, Laugliter, "witn lips slow-spreaamg to a smile; >Ar hat were tnis v/orlo. witnout tne quip ana \vile X he cap ana bells, tne old time-nonored jest? Welcome tne coming, speed tne departing guest; And still witn merriment tne "way beguile. A lime joy snail last the longest while. Be gay, look up, te merry witK tLe rest. For mark tne limpid quiobles oi the streams. The joyousness tnat sunshine scatters far. The crooning exultation of the sea! Befter te glad witL careless Jolin-a-Dreams Tnan linger -wnere the sooer sages are And lose the wiser sense of jollity. SONNETS TO A WIFE 63 Sanctuary As from tke toil and turmoil or tne world I come to bring good fortune or defeat. And once again your loving eyes to meet, Tken droops tke rest, like a lone banner furled By idle winds; for all my tkougkts are -wkirled Toward you, like a cloud of swallows fleet; And all tke cares tkat follo-w at my feet Like wraitks against tke darkness back are kurled. Home is wkere love is, and no doubt can pierce Tkat inner space wkere you and I ao dwell. Nor cast a lurking skadow on its floor; However beats tke tide beyond us fierce However prowls, v/itk ululating yell, Tke ever-w^atckful wolf beside tke door. 64 SONNETS TO A WIFE In the Beech vC^oods Broad screens, wcucn sliut tke Jawnlight irom tne eartn Or emerala leaves dense woven tnick across; Ana under toot -were strips or velvet moss 1 nat sloped around tke teeck-tree's mighty girth. No Dird-song breaking into suaaen mirtn But silence, and a sadness xor sucn loss, >iVitn here and there a shred or sunlight s gloss To lighten up the forest s flowerlcss dearth. Do must the Eden garden once have stood When A.dam and his hride went on their way: No hirds nor flowers m the pleasant wood But somhre aisles, and solemn spaces gray. Do you rememher how we found it there? A green cathedral, ghostly-still and hare! SONNETSTOAWIFE 65 Contentment To ^lean the fielcis or lire and take tke grain Vv itn thorns or poppies as tke goJs decree; To lightly jest at W^inter's wratk and see Flowers in frost upon tke window-pane; To kuild our airy castle-walls m Spain, However kare tke near surroundings ke — Tkis is tke secret of content; tke key AA' kick men kave given all tke world to gam. We find it wkere tke sun and skadows meet In sylvan spaces cloistered from tke town, "Wkere vague, yet clear, its presence may ke seen; It rustles m tke dead leaves at our feet It catckes at tke ruffle of your gown, A.nd keckons on witk kappy eyes serene. SONNETS TO A WIFE borrow Tke saving grace of sorrow has been ours So that tnis present happiness is s^veet; Yea! Joutly so, since long ago our feet ^A' ere pierced oy tnorns, and seldom toucned oy ilo"wers; Past sadness with a rarer joy endoAvers 1 hese days in wnicn our pulses nigher beat; Like olossoms 'wnicn uplift, tne sun to greet Alter tne stress or sudden cnilling snowers. Fire tempers steel; and tnus the test or pam Snail make souls steadfast, and tne true heart strong And bring tranquility from stormy years; Life s bi^er lessons are not learned m vain And rightly runs tne burden of the song, "They ligntest laugn w^no kne^v tne toucli of tears/' SONNETSTOAWIFE 67 In V^7nter Paths The tumoled arirts like nxed and irozen seas Are Dulowed up around us, all m wnite, 1 ne swirling winds on leatless oranches smite A.na round about the trunks or naked trees Flit restlessly tne Dlack-capped cnickadees; Shy Lits oi grey, in trier and silent flignt; The ^woods are blacker tnan at dead or nigfnt And under icy shields tke waters freeze. But yonder was a spray where on a time The room sang; in tnat lone reach remote V^ild violets gatnered, tluer than tne sea; Nor snail tnis deartn banisn tne water s rnyme The green or the grass, the blue-Dird s April note, Wnile side by side you wander nere witn me. 68 SONNETS TO A WIFE Steadfastness AiVe will not dreacl tlie future nor tlie past. Tkere is enough to live for day by day. Time and to spare for either work or play And tke long slumker coming at tne last; Goci and Eternity are mucn too vast To fret us wkile we linger by tne way. Sometimes ^ve shall be sad, and sometimes gay. But keart witk keart, and kand m kand stand fast. Let otkers seek tke solace of tke skrine Under tke gilded and mscripted dome Tkat skuts from sigkt tke far klue keavens akove; For us tke essence of tke true divme, Tke kuman joys tkat touck and sweeten kome — And tkat denied tke angels — w^kick is Love. SONNETSTOAWIFE €9 Pictures TLere nave oeen pictures that were reckoned rair In ancient times by cunning painters "wrougnt. Ana far across the tides or ocean brougnt To nang at last like jewels old and rare In stately nails; but none tnat ■would compare To some one woman, oy the Graces taugkt, Witn roses at Ler Losom, perlxime-frauglit A.nd motes or golden sunlignt in ner nair. Time picks tne crumoling canvas into shreds Till, dust at lengtli it sinks m tke abyss. And "With tne "winds m errant circle Llows; But ere Fate comes to snip tke tigktened tkreads TLere is no picture wKicli is like to tkis — The one fair woman — at ker kreast a rose. 70 SONNETSTOAWIFE Ohadi ows If we are naugkt tut skaclows, as they say. Seen triefly as a sunset wnile we pass. If life is tinkling cymtals — sounding brass — And love a dream tkat quickly fades away — Fate may not rob us; w^e Kave had our day; Have beard tbe music and bave drained our glass; And if we are to perisb as tbe grass Deatb cannot quencb tbe spark wbicb lit our clay. For Love beyond all else is vestal name Tbat burns forever, constant as is 1 ime Steadfast and brigbt as is tbe Nortbern star; And wben, like mist, we vanisb as "we came, Maybap our passion sball imbue tbis rbyme ^Vitb life for otbers, sbadows tbougb we are. J^otes. /\otes The twentietli sonnet of tKe sequence as it appeared in ttc first edition is an emendation by tKe author. As the sonnets appeared serially in the St. Louis Mirror, the twentieth w^as as follows: At the VC^inclow A measure of slow musing, and a dream Of other days that to her heart has sped; A yard below where grasses thickly spread Lie out like velvet in the sunlight* s gleam; Blue-dappled skies with clouds as wan as cream. And in the streets, a wandering, noisy thread Of w^heels and voices, down and outward led. That ripples past the window in a stream. But now a footstep echoes up the street And drops the thimble from her finger there. The quickened pulses of the day swift beat And sunshine nestles in her tawny hair; He looks above, as hoping not in vain— Her face appears, a flower at the pane. In the first, 1901, edition tte ttirty-fiftK sonnet was as follows: SeJfisfi ness I want no child to take one jot from me Of this, your love; no helpless clinging hands To hold their place as strong as iron hands. rd lock your heart and throw away the key. As now you are, so I would have you he Till from Life's glass should fall the latest sands; Till on the hearth the ultimate dull hrands Fade out, and leave us to Eternity. I know the children's power; and I know Your soul would flower and hlossom to a child; And loving you, I would not have it so Lest I of my sole treasure "were heguiled; To learn that hiiler lesson, late in life, ( How^ far a mother loves heyond a wife. r^X^ B D-2 0.S. r - < * y ^'Ai: