" Why do you wait at your door, woman,
Alone in the night? "
" I am waiting for one who will come, stranger,
To show him a light.
He will see me afar on the road
And be glad at the sight. "

" Have you no fear in your heart, woman,
To stand there alone?
There is comfort for you and kindly content
Beside the hearthstone. "
But she answered, " No rest can I have
Till I welcome my own. "

" Is it far he must travel to-night,
This man of your heart? "
" Strange lands that I know not and pitiless seas
Have kept us apart,
And he travels this night to his home
Without guide, without chart. "

" And has he companions to cheer him? "
" Aye, many, " she said.
" The candles are lighted, the hearthstones are swept,
The fires glow red.
We shall welcome them out of the night —
Our home-coming dead. "