At the close of the long summer day when the sun, swinging low,
Cast its last level ray o'er the mirror-like bay, and the glow
Of the clouds' molten gold and the crimson of opaline fire
Bathed the green of the wold and each stately old pine's graceful spire,
On the rustic oak bench by the door of their cottage, alone,
Hand in hand, sat a husband and wife. Bent their backs were now grown
'Neath the burden of life and the strife; yet serene were their eyes,
And their faces were calm with the balm that is sent from the skies
On a lifetime well spent and a mutual love that is wise!
" Oh, how like a strange dream do those vanished days seem, " says the one,
" When we left the dear home to follow the westering sun
Far across the sea-foam to this land which not one of us knew.
Sure my heart would have fainted for fear had it not been for you! "
There was silence a moment and then in a voice like a croon,
" I shall never forget, " said the other, " that night when the moon
At its full o'er the rim of the ocean arose; not a cloud,
Not a mist in the magical east hung to dim or to shroud,
And we sat in the bow, just as now, hand in hand, girl and boy,
With our hearts overflowing with deep, inexpressible joy.
For the love that was ours, like the perfume of flowers, on that night
Seemed to rise to the skies, filling all the sweet air with delight.
" And I thought, " said the other, in joyous antiphonal strain,
" How we two moved along in a pathway of gold o'er the main
To a palace of love such as heaven above offers those
Who have fought the good faith, who have finished the course. " How it grows,
How it broadens and brightens!" I cried, " My treasure, my bride!
There is no one alive in the world but we two. We abide
Through our love which is life, through our love which shall ever endure
Like the moon, full of light, like the light which is holy and pure." "
" From that hour until now, " said the first, " the moon of our love
Has not waned, has not paled, has not set; it has hung there above
As the full moon that night! 'Twas a symbol, a God-given sign,
That as long as we lived and forever thou'rt mine, I am thine! "
As the man and the woman thus sat at the close of the day,
As the sun sank from sight and the pyre died in ashes away,
From the rim of the bay, like a silvery fire, rose the bright,
Rose the friendly old face of the moon to encourage the night;
And its rays, like a radiance sweet, like a halo, a crown,
Rested bright on the roofs of quaint Plymouth, the Puritan town.
Cast its last level ray o'er the mirror-like bay, and the glow
Of the clouds' molten gold and the crimson of opaline fire
Bathed the green of the wold and each stately old pine's graceful spire,
On the rustic oak bench by the door of their cottage, alone,
Hand in hand, sat a husband and wife. Bent their backs were now grown
'Neath the burden of life and the strife; yet serene were their eyes,
And their faces were calm with the balm that is sent from the skies
On a lifetime well spent and a mutual love that is wise!
" Oh, how like a strange dream do those vanished days seem, " says the one,
" When we left the dear home to follow the westering sun
Far across the sea-foam to this land which not one of us knew.
Sure my heart would have fainted for fear had it not been for you! "
There was silence a moment and then in a voice like a croon,
" I shall never forget, " said the other, " that night when the moon
At its full o'er the rim of the ocean arose; not a cloud,
Not a mist in the magical east hung to dim or to shroud,
And we sat in the bow, just as now, hand in hand, girl and boy,
With our hearts overflowing with deep, inexpressible joy.
For the love that was ours, like the perfume of flowers, on that night
Seemed to rise to the skies, filling all the sweet air with delight.
" And I thought, " said the other, in joyous antiphonal strain,
" How we two moved along in a pathway of gold o'er the main
To a palace of love such as heaven above offers those
Who have fought the good faith, who have finished the course. " How it grows,
How it broadens and brightens!" I cried, " My treasure, my bride!
There is no one alive in the world but we two. We abide
Through our love which is life, through our love which shall ever endure
Like the moon, full of light, like the light which is holy and pure." "
" From that hour until now, " said the first, " the moon of our love
Has not waned, has not paled, has not set; it has hung there above
As the full moon that night! 'Twas a symbol, a God-given sign,
That as long as we lived and forever thou'rt mine, I am thine! "
As the man and the woman thus sat at the close of the day,
As the sun sank from sight and the pyre died in ashes away,
From the rim of the bay, like a silvery fire, rose the bright,
Rose the friendly old face of the moon to encourage the night;
And its rays, like a radiance sweet, like a halo, a crown,
Rested bright on the roofs of quaint Plymouth, the Puritan town.