Classic Poem

I MARVEL if my heart
Hath any room apart,
Built secretly its mystic walls within,
With subtly warded key
Ne'er yielded unto me,
Where even I have surely never been.

Ah, surely I know all
The bright and cheerful hall,
With the fire ever red upon its hearth;
My friends dwell with me there,
Nor comes the step of Care
To sadden down its music and its mirth.

Full well I know as mine
The little cloistered shrine
No foot but mine alone hath ever trod;
There come the shining wings,
The face of One who brings
The prayers of men before the throne of God.

And many know full well
The busy, busy cell
Where I toil at the work I have to do;
Nor is the portal fast
Where stand phantoms of the past,
Or grow the bitter plants of darksome rue.

I know the dainty spot
(Ah, who doth know it not?)
Where pure young Love his lily-cradle made,
And nestled some sweet springs
With lily-spangled wings—
Forget-me-nots upon his bier I laid.

Yet marvel I, my soul,
Know I thy very whole,
Or dost thou hide a chamber still from me?
Is it built upon the wall?
Is it spacious? Is it small?
Is it God, or man, or I who hold the key?