WHEN WAR CAME

War came, one day, and drew us close together,

Although it swept us many miles apart;

The love that lay as lightly as a feather,

Now rests, a precious weight, upon my heart.

And all the dreams I dreamed for just the dreaming,

Have taken on a meaning that is new;

And somehow all the lonely world is seeming,

To cry aloud my aching need of you!

Because you were so much a part of living,

Like sunshine and the freshness of the air,

The priceless gift of faith that you were giving

Seemed small to me. Scarce knowing you were there

I took your heart-strings in my careless fingers,

And played a song as light as summer dew,

And yet, today, its wistful echo lingers

And fills an empty world with thoughts of you.

I did not think that I would ever miss you,

I did not dream the time would come to be

When I would long to touch your hand, to kiss you —

To hear your voice say tender words to me.

I did not know that I would wonder whether

My head would rest, once more, against your heart....

War came, my dear, and drew us close together,

Although it swept us many miles apart!