Classic Poem

I KNEW two beings in this world of care—
Twin souls, whose pilgrim paths were far apart;
The one was brave and strong, the other fair,
And both endowed of Heaven with many rare
And priceless attributes of mind and heart.

They dwelt apart, yet they were formed to be
In love's mysterious unity combined
He was a casket of rich gems, and she
Possessed, unwittingly, the only key
That would unlock the treasure to mankind

Her soul was like a fine, unfolded flower,
Hiding its sweetness from the common view,
Shrinking alike, from shadow and from shower,
He, like the morning sunshine, had the power
To give it fairer bloom, diviner hue.

Apart, their lives by common interests spanned,
Were fretted, wasted in a smouldering fire;
United, they had been prolific, grand,
Sweeping the world's great heart-strings as the hand
Swept the melodious chords of Memnon's lyre.

And so they lived and died, with harps unstrung:
Haply they never knew that God had given
To each a poet's soul, a poet's tongue,
Nor even dreamed of songs they might have sung
Before the singers, at the gate of heaven.