TWO GHOSTS

Two dead men boarded a spectral ship

In the astral Port of Space;

On that ghost-filled barque, they met in the dark,

And halted, face to face.

‘ Now whither away’ — called one of the ghosts,

‘ This ship sets sail for Earth.

On the astral plane you must remain,

Where the newly dead have birth.’

‘ But I could not stay and I would not stay,’

The other ghost replied;

‘ I must hurry back to the old Earth track

And stand at my loved one's side.

‘ She weeps for me in her lonely room,

In the land from whence I came;

Oh! stow me away in this ship, I pray,

For I hear her call my name.’

‘ You must not go, and you shall not go,’

The first ghost cried in wrath.

‘ Your work is planned, in the astral land,

And a guide will show you the path.’

‘ But the one I love’ —‘ I loved her too,’

The first ghost stood and cried;

‘ And year on year I waited here,

Yea, waited till you died.

‘ For I would not come between you two,

Nor shadow her joy with fear,

But mine is the right, I claim this night

To visit the earthly sphere.

‘ For you are dead, and I am dead,

And you had her long — so long.

And to look on the grace of her worshipped face,

Ah! now it can do no wrong.

‘ I am fettered to Earth by love of her,

And hers is the spell divine,

That can help me rise, to the realm that lies

Just over the astral line.

‘ I have kept to the laws of God and man,

I have suffered and made no moan;

Now my little share of joy, I swear

I will have — and have it alone.’

A skeleton crew the anchor drew,

And the ship from the port swung free;

With a muffled clang the ghost bell rang,

And the boat sailed out to sea.

And one ghost stood on the deck and laughed,

As only a glad ghost can;

While a swooning soul was dragged to his goal,

To work out the astral span.

And a woman wept, and prayed ere she slept,

For a dream to ease her pain;

But she dreamed instead of a man long dead,

Who had loved her all in vain.