RESURRECTION

You took the lilt from my heart of hearts,

And the breath of song from my soul;

And the mind of me that had once been free

And buoyantly young, and whole;

Grew calm and still as a barren sea,

Where never a star beam shone,

A sea where never a ripple danced —

That reflected your face along.

I walked in a daze down well-worn paths —

Paths that your feet had trod;

I thought your thoughts and I spoke your tongue,

I knelt to your hostile God.

And the dreams that had been a part of me,

I tossed with a sigh away,

And left to rust in the misty dust

Of the land called Yesterday.

My hands lay folded in slim repose,

Quite as you bade them rest;

Folded, meek, o'er the leaden heart

That tortured my gypsie breast.

And I smiled with my lips — my eyes were numb —

I smiled for I never knew,

That the mind of me was a lifeless sea,

Reflecting the face of you!

You took the lilt from my carefree life,

And the song from my singing heart;

But there came a day when the world grew gray,

When I knew that we must part....

So I tore you out of your soul-bound shrine —

And, oh, though it caused me pain,

I raised my face to the sky and knew

That my song would come again!