234
A SHEAF GLEANED
Sonnet.—A VISION.
Loving at twelve years old a cousin young,
And gaining nothing at the sport but tears,
I said that God, who all things sees and hears,
Shall see me carve, the forest-boughs among,
Her name to-day. Over an abyss there clung
A tree: I chose it, and with hopes and fears
Reached its slant summit. 'Now through all the years,'
Said I descending, 'shall this token hung
Witness my love,' but sudden, clothed in white,
A lady fair whom I had never seen
Stood at my side: 'What thou hast done is right,
But in thy heart will nothing low or mean
This love efface or leastwise shade and screen?
Place that love, rather, on a pure, safe height!'
