for them,
   To-night for us.

Ebb Tide

  When the long day goes by
   And I do not see your face,
  The old wild, restless sorrow
   Steals from its hiding place.

  My day is barren and broken,
   Bereft of light and song,
  A sea beach bleak and windy
   That moans the whole day long.

  To the empty beach at ebb tide,
   Bare with its rocks and scars,
  Come back like the sea with singing,
   And light of a million stars.

I Would Live in Your Love

  I would live in your love as the sea-grasses live in the sea,
  Borne up by each wave as it passes, drawn down by each wave that recedes;
  I would empty my soul of the dreams that have gathered in me,
  I would beat with your heart as it beats, I would follow your soul
    as it leads.

Because

  Oh, because you never tried
  To bow my will or break my pride,
  And nothing of the cave-man made
  You want to keep me half afraid,
  Nor ever with a conquering air
  You thought to draw me unaware—
  Take me, for I love you more
  Than I ever loved before.

  And since the body's maidenhood
  Alone were neither rare nor good
  Unless with it I gave to you
  A spirit still untrammeled, too,
  Take my dreams and take my mind
  That were masterless as wind;
  And "Master!" I shall say to you
  Since you never asked me to.

The Tree of Song

  I sang my songs for the rest,
   For you I am still;
  The tree of my song is bare
   On its shining hill.

  For you came like a lordly wind,
   And the leaves were whirled
  Far as forgotten things
   Past the rim of the world.

  The tree of my song stands bare
   Against the blue—
  I gave my songs to the rest,
   Myself to you.

The Giver

  You bound strong sandals on my feet,
   You gave me bread and wine,
  And sent me under sun and stars,
   For all the world was mine.

  Oh, take the sandals off my feet,
   You know not what you do;
  For all my world is in your arms,
   My sun and stars are you.

April Song

  Willow, in your April gown
   Delicate and gleaming,
  Do you mind in years gone by
   All my dreaming?

  Spring was like a call to me
   That I could not answer,
  I was chained to loneliness,
   I, the dancer.

  Willow, twinkling in the sun,
   Still your leaves and hear me,
  I can answer spring at last,
   Love is near me!

The Wanderer

  I saw the sunset-colored sands,
   The Nile like flowing fire between,
   Where Rameses stares forth serene,
  And Ammon's heavy temple stands.

  I saw the rocks where long ago,
   Above the sea that cries and breaks,
   Swift Perseus with Medusa's snakes
  Set free the maiden white like snow.

  And many skies have covered me,
   And many winds have blown me forth,
   And I have loved the green, bright north,
  And I have loved the cold, sweet sea.

  But what to me are north and south,
   And what the lure of many lands,
   Since you have leaned to catch my hands
  And lay a kiss upon my mouth.

The Years

  To-night I close my eyes and see
  A strange procession passing me—
  The years before I saw your face
  Go by me with a wistful grace;
  They pass, the sensitive, shy years,
  As one who strives to dance, half blind with tears.

  The years went by and never knew
  That each one brought me nearer you;
  Their path was narrow and apart
  And yet it led me to your heart—
  Oh, sensitive, shy years, oh, lonely years,
  That strove to sing with voices drowned in tears.

Enough

  It is enough for me by day
   To walk the same bright earth with him;
  Enough that over us by night
   The same great roof of stars is dim.

  I do not hope to bind the wind
   Or set a fetter on the sea—
  It is enough to feel his love
   Blow by like music over me.

Come

  Come, when the pale moon like a petal
   Floats in the pearly dusk of spring,
  Come with arms outstretched to take me,
   Come with lips pursed up to cling.

  Come, for life is a frail moth flying,
   Caught in the web of the years that pass,
  And soon we two, so warm and eager,
   Will be as the gray stones in the grass.

Joy

  I am wild, I will sing to the trees,
   I will sing to the stars in the sky,
  I love, I am loved, he is mine,
   Now at last I can die!

  I am sandaled with wind and with flame,
   I have heart-fire and singing to give,
  I can tread on the grass or the stars,
   Now at last I can live!

Riches

  I have no riches but my thoughts,
   Yet these are wealth enough for me;
  My thoughts of you are golden coins
   Stamped in the mint of memory;

  And I must spend them all in song,
   For thoughts, as well as gold, must be
  Left on the hither side of death
   To gain their immortality.

Dusk in War Time

  A half-hour more and you will lean
   To gather me close in the old sweet way—
  But oh, to the woman over the sea
   Who will come at the close of day?

  A half-hour more and I will hear
   The key in the latch and the strong, quick tread—
  But oh, the woman over the sea
   Waiting at dusk for one who is dead!

Peace

  Peace flows into me
   As the tide to the pool by the shore;
   It is mine forevermore,
  It will not ebb like the sea.

  I am the pool of blue
   That worships the vivid sky;
   My hopes were heaven-high,
  They are all fulfilled in you.

  I am the pool of gold
   When sunset burns and dies—
   You are my deepening skies;
  Give me your stars to hold.