Old Rendezvous.

Sadly I pause: the very flowers with their silent swaying
Seem to have caught a glimpse of her once more…
Out on the world, ‘tis greatly sad and dreary;
Here, only here, come dreams of days before…
Why weep ye not, ye stately poplars?
Bow ye not at all?
Know not the loss which love divided knows?—
But still across the lake the swans are gliding—
Still blooms the blue wisteria, and the rose…
Sad is my heart, all of my love so quickly torn away—
Still there is beauty in this greenery;
Still is the moon its silver silence shedding
Regardless of the heart-ache numbing me.
Beauty lives on! And though one atom of itself is gone,
Yet, the great world before me still is spreading.
Though from this hallowed spot I needs must turn,
Light is my step… Yes, lightly am I treading…
Short be the time—for meet we must again, if love be love.
Fled is my sorrow; joy is born anew.
Sleep gently, gently sleep, O sweet beloved,
Soon shall we know a sweeter rendezvous…
—Michael Douglas.