Page:Poems Holley.djvu/167

And "Death would seem as sweet as life,
 Could we together be."
Now, though we two were parted
 By such a distance wide,
By such a strange and viewless realm,
 By such a boundless tide,
Her gentle face was radiant
 With a surpassing bliss;
She was happier in that distant land,
 Than she ever was in this.
And in some other tenderness,
 Some other love divine,
She had found a peace and happiness,
 She never found in mine.

So with a tender chiding,
 I could not quite suppress,
Though well my darling knew
 I would not make her pleasures less.
"Are you happy, love?" I said,
 "Are you happy, love, without me?"
Then she raised her gentle head,
 And twined her arms about me;
Yet while my tears fell faster,
 Beneath her mute caress,
Her face had all the glory
 Of a sainted soul at rest;