Classic Poem

Once, when my heart and I were young,
We wandered, restless, by sea and strand,
And lingered a little space among
The sheltered valleys of Switzerland, —

Where watchful summits forever frown
Through blue air slanting clear and keen,
Wearing proudly their icy crown,
While happiest hamlets smile between;

Where rapid torrents, rejoicing, run,
Leaping the cliffs in strength and pride,
Like snow-white ribbons in wind and sun
Fluttering down the mountain-side;

Where smoke-like cloudings of tender blue
Dapple the slopes in the sunnier spots,
And sweetly change, on a nearer view,
To drifts of fairest forget-me-nots.

Often at eve, when the sun was low
And the mountain shadows grew dark and vast,
I watched the cottagers, wending slow
Home to rest when their toil was past.

Two walked lovingly, side by side,
Speaking softly as lovers speak, —
He with an air of manly pride,
She with a blush on her sun-browned cheek.

Hand in hand through the evening red
They went, in the shadows moist and sweet,
Choosing a narrow path that led
On and on through the growing wheat.

Sunset touched him with rosy light;
Sunset brightened her loosened hair.
Poor and plain, they were fair to sight,
For youth and love are forever fair.

And often, when sunset charms the air,
For the time and scene are vanished now,
I think of that simple loving pair,
And wonder whether they kept their vow;

Whether under some mossy roof,
Their wedded spirits serenely blent,
They weave the even warp and woof
Of their quiet being in calm content,

Or whether they parted in scorn and wrath,
As myriad lovers have done before,
And choosing each a separate path,
Were thence divided forevermore;

Or whether still, as across the land
The dewy shadows grow damp and sweet,
Perennial lovers, with hand in hand,
They walk knee-deep in the growing wheat.